One explanation for the reminiscence bump may be that it is related to our emergence of a real sense of self, which seems to be a largely universal phenomenon. At what age did you form a stable identity? The chances are that if you are a woman, your you-ness first really shone through when you were between 13 and 14, and if you are a man, you probably settled into yourself a bit later, between the ages of 15 and 18. This age range also happens to be the peak of the bump, at least according Steve Janssen’s research team.
