Abstract
This study explored how some adolescents use event memories in the course of their identity achievement, and compared their cognitive processes with those of identity non-achivers. In Study I, 118 university students answered questionnaires, which included the Identity Status Scale, and items referring to event memories about concrete episodes related to their critical life course decision. The results indicated that identity achievers described details less precisely on the autobio-graphical items, compared with non-achievers. In Study II, 45 students were interviewed to determine their identity status, and their identity-relevant memories were also elicited. The results indicated a higher degree of relation between event memories and subjects' struggle to define their idntity among achievers', compared with non-achievers. The results of both studies suggest that identity achievers' memories were reconstructed in the process of identity formation. Finally, the general functions of memory in the identity formation process were discussed.
