Autobiographical memory is a complex blend of memories of single, recurring, and extended events integrated into a coherent story of self that is created and evaluated through sociocultural practices. Autobiographical memory is distinct from episodic memory in that (1) it relies on autobiographical consciousness, which emerges by the end of the preschool years; (2) it is formed within social interactions in which multiple developing skills are brought to bear on the construction of coherent stories of self and a narrative identity that emerges in adolescence; and (3) through this developmental process, autobiographical memories come to serve uniquely sociocultural functions of defining self and regulating emotion.