Remembering beloved objects from early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence and the role of the five senses

ABSTRACT

Beloved objects are cherished and valued possessions that we feel attached to. Previous research has demonstrated that the functions of beloved objects change across a lifespan. However, beloved objects may not only be appreciated because of their functions but also because of their sensory qualities. We hypothesised that the sensory experiences with beloved objects show a developmental trajectory and that the proximal senses (touch, taste, smell) become less important across childhood and adolescence, while the distant senses (vision, hearing) become more important. Moreover, we assumed that the observed changes in the sensory experiences are associated with the corresponding changes of functions across life stages. Building on the idea that those (perceptual) aspects of our environment that are particularly important to us are preferentially stored in memory, we hypothesised that this developmental trajectory would also be reflected in retrospective accounts. Hence, participants (N = 225) were asked to remember beloved objects from early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence, to describe their functions and to answer questions regarding their sensory experiences with the objects. The mixed methods data analyses confirmed our hypotheses. Taken together, our study illustrates and underlines the importance of beloved objects for thinking, behaviour, memory, and identity.

KEYWORDS:

• Beloved objects
• valued possessions
• lifespan
• senses
• memory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The distinction between distant and proximal senses can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle and has since had a long career in the history of Western philosophical thought (see, e.g., Classen, 1997; Howes, 2003; Kovach, 1970). Rather than speaking of distant and proximal senses, many authors speak of higher senses (vision, hearing), which are considered to be involved in intellectual thought and aesthetic experience, and lower senses (touch, smell, taste), which are considered to be rather primitive and animalistic. To avoid these evaluative connotations, we use the more neutral terms distant and proximal senses.