The malleability of collective memories: One year after the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan

How people view their social groups' history has important implications at both the collective and the individual levels. It has been established that collective memories, the representations of one's groups' history, differ between generations and individuals. Yet, it remains unclear how collective memories change in reaction to dramatic social change. Using temporal collective relative deprivation (TCRD), which reflects how individuals perceive their group's situation in history, we hypothesize that TCRD trajectories change over time and that highly identified individuals will be less likely to change their trajectory. Kyrgyz nationals (N = 166) responded immediately after the Tulip Revolution and one year later to TCRD measurements. Dual group-based trajectory analysis indicates that a third of the sample modified their memories about their group's situation one year after a dramatic social change and that low identification with the group predicted this change. These results support the idea that collective memory is revised at the individual level after dramatic social change.