Episodic and Autobiographical Memory

Abstract Episodic memory is about recollection of events in one's past. Autobiographical memory is one's personal history that may include episodic memories in addition to other facts about oneself (such as one's place and date of birth). The concepts are related but not identical and have been studied in different research traditions. In discussing both episodic and autobiographical memory, we consider sets of factors that occur (a) prior to the to‐be‐remembered events, (b) during encoding of the event, (c) during the retention interval between encoding and retrieval, and (d) during retrieval of the event in response to some query or test. Despite the fact that the types of research on these concepts arise from different methods, there is convergence in many outcomes and principles that emerge from both types of research. However, results from the two research traditions do not always converge and the methods have different strengths. Episodic memory tasks allow for manipulation of prior events, whereas autobiographical memory methods allow for investigations in more natural contexts. Episodic and autobiographical memory are best viewed as overlapping concepts with both similarities and differences in their operation. Each domain of inquiry provides an important contribution to the larger understanding of human memory.