ABSTRACT
This study explores the differences between the phenomenology of memories from early adulthood and those from the last year and whether memories from these two periods predict the general sense of remembering as a function of age. In this study, 291 healthy participants aged from 31 to 80 years assessed the phenomenology of their autobiographical memories through seven factors (vividness, coherence, reliving, rehearsal, scene, visual imagery, and life story relevance) in an online questionnaire, first in a general way and then for the two periods of interest (i.e., from 18 to 30 years and the last year). Global linear models revealed that the phenomenology of recent memories is higher than the phenomenology of memories from 18 to 30 years of age. However, individuals preferentially refer to these remote memories rather than recent ones to determine the overall phenomenology of their autobiographical memories.