The Impact of Significant Events

Social Psychologists seek to understand why people behave in certain ways. When assessing the behaviors of people, Social Psychologists need to take into account how significant events in our lives can influence our personality and overall well-being. Significant events in our lives are stored in our memory, and they can influence our consciousness, development, and have a life-shaping effect on our lives.

A significant event that occurred in my life took place at the age of fourteen. My father was involved in a car accident, had a serious head injury, and my mother was away for months as she took care of my father at a hospital three hours away. Although this event is still in my memory, the details of the event may not be completely accurate since the event took place 20 years ago. Holland (2011) explained that “long term memories are always modified and distorted through the process of consolidation.” As a person moves through adolescence into adulthood, our memory begins to decline. The recollection of memories becomes more difficult, as people will recall the information but have trouble remembering the context in which the information was presented (Ofen et al., 2007). As a result, even though the details of this event can be recalled, each element of the event may be slightly altered.

At the time, this event had a profound effect on my subjective well-being since the event resulted in the absence of two parents for an extended period of time during adolescence. As a result, a portion of my adolescence was spent with distant relatives. Living without my parents produced a feeling of insecurity and abandonment since it was not known if my father would recover from his injuries and if my mother would be returning home. Holland (2011) stated that our “consciousness involves learning, which depends on the ability to save and recall information, and to develop new behavior in response to environmental challenges.” Therefore, this time period was spent learning how to be independent and trying to adapt to these new surroundings without the support and influence of my parents.

This significant event impacted the development of my personality since it resulted in the development of a very anxious person. Holland (2011) explained that “each of us are self-conscious and possesses a unique ability to monitor our own thoughts, feelings, and actions.” Before the accident, my personality was carefree and very easy going. However, after the event, my personality became very anxious, as there was a constant fear that a family member would be involved in another serious accident or that my parents would be absent again for another extended period of time. To this day, my personality still remains slightly neurotic, as it is filled with anxiety and worry.

Additionally, my father’s injury had a negative impact on my overall health. Voss (2009) explained that painful memories can negatively affect a person since people are most likely to relive and recall significant events in our lives. This is due to the fact that “memories are deepened by intense emotional experiences, and these intense emotions produce strong memories and can cause a person to relive emotional pain” (Holland, 2011). The emotional pain left by my father’s injury lead to period of depression throughout adolescence and adulthood. Further, my health suffered with several panic attacks, as the accident heightened my flight or fight response to the environment. As a result, the cognitions of the event have created a tendency to run from problems and stressors in life, and to cope with problems independently by withdrawing from family and friends.

Conversely, this event had a positive impact on my overall health. Since the injury of my father, family is now extremely important in my life. This event showed how much parents mean to a person despite the age of a child. Therefore, this event influenced my coping skills since it is now know that family will always be there for each other even if they are absent for an extended period of time.

To conclude, significant events in our lives are stored in our memory, and they can influence our consciousness, development, and have a life-shaping effect on our lives. The injury to my father during adolescence lead to the development of an anxious person who copes with problems and stressors by fleeing from them. However, the positive impact of this event lead to understanding the importance of having parent’s in our lives, even if they are absent for extended periods of time.

References

Holland, J. (2011). Memory and consciousness. Nature Science Art. Retrieved from http://naturescienceart.org/2011/10/30/memory-and-consciousness/

Ofen, N., Kao, Y., Sokol-Hessner, P., Kim, H., Whitfield-Gabrieli, S., & Gabrieli, J.D. E. (2007). Development of the declarative memory system in the human brain. Nature Neuroscience, 10(9), 1198-1205.

Voss, J.L. (2009). Long-term associated memory capacity in man. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 16(6), 1076-1081.