In My Era: Evidence for the Perception of a Special Period of the Past

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Abstract
Do individuals perceive a time of their lives that is special with regard to their identity as part of a generation or era? In an interview study, 89 subjects were asked to list favourite films (and the ages at which they saw them) and to list films that defined their era (and the ages at which they saw them). Subjects also stated the years that they felt began and ended their eras. Additional age-information questions about ages of schooling and co-workers and friends were asked. Results suggest that subjects perceive their era to be between ages 14 and 24; the mean age at which subjects viewed era films was 21.85 (inside the era), whereas the mean age at which subjects viewed favourite films was 27.59 (outside the era). Although most subjects perceived their eras to begin at approximately the same age (14), those subjects who attended college perceived extended era periods (by 2.5 years). Relationships between an era and social identity are discussed, as well as the relationship between the era and the autobiographical memory phenomenon of the reminiscence peak.