On Reconstructing History Using Retrospective Interviews: A Review of the Neuropsychological Literature on Individual Memory

• In Event: 155 - Regular Session. Qualitative Methodology

Abstract

It is tricky to obtain historical information from in-depth interviews, in part because human memory is fallible, and in part because respondent communication is shaped by narrative constraints and personal goals. While most work has addressed narrative issues, I address memory fallibility. I survey the neuropsychological experimental literature on memory, to ask what people are capable of remembering, what kinds of distortions normally occur, and what that implies for conducting and analyzing in-depth interviews. I argue for some simple rules that can be used to assess whether a memory can be used 1) to measure prior occurrences, or 2) to impute prior states of mind.

Author

• Aziza Khazzoom, Indiana University-Bloomington