A Canonical Narrative Structure in Autobiographical Recall

Storytelling is a defining feature of human cognition, and among the most common stories we tell are those of our own lives, that is, our autobiographical memories. In English-Speaking Western cultures, stories follow a reliable arc: context sets the stage, a plot builds towards a climax, and resolution follows. Yet memory itself is malleable. Whether the reconstructive nature of memory bends or preserves the architecture of story is unknown. Across three large-scale studies we show that memory narratives follow a sticky narrative structure: early contextual details, a mid-narrative rise and fall of event details, and late-emerging emotional reflections. This arc is impervious to the passage of time and the emotionality of the memories. These findings reveal that narrative structure, long recognized in literature and media, also governs autobiographical memory recall. Even as memory details fade or distort, the skeleton of story endures.