School of Psychology Assistant Professor Hsiao-Wen Liao and colleagues (2021) decided to investigate the adaptive functions of the “reminiscence bump”. The “bump” in this term refers to the finding that the memories older adults have of their early adult years are the clearest of all of those they have in their entire lives, including the recent past. It’s possible, they argue, that there is value in massaging those events from your early adulthood as you think about your current life. Specifically, the more you feel that the events in your “bump” were ones you could control, the more likely it is that thinking about them brings you satisfaction.