The Making of the Self: Autobiographical Memory, Narrative Identity and Personal Continuity

This paper explores the psychological experience of personal continuity through the relationship between autobiographical memory, narrative identity, and the evolving understanding of the self. Drawing on the Self-Memory System framework proposed by Conway and Pleydell-Pearce (2000) and the concept of narrative identity discussed by McAdams and McLean (2013), the paper examines how remembered experiences, present interpretations, and imagined futures contribute to an individual's sense of continuity amid personal change. The paper distinguishes psychological continuity from the philosophical question of metaphysical personal identity. It further develops exploratory reflections on the relationship between experience and interpretation, the influence of social perceptions, the distinction between aspiration and action, and the possibility of understanding the self as an evolving relationship between past, present, and future. This is an exploratory conceptual paper based on accessible abstracts and partial source material. It is not an empirical study or a systematic literature review. Its interpretations are preliminary and should be understood within the limitations of its restricted literature base. Author: Bristi Priyam Sonowal Affiliation: Independent Student Researcher, India Document type: Preliminary conceptual working paper Version: 1.0 Date: 10 November 2026