Psych of Mem Chp 7
Possible explanations for the Reminiscence bump: Novelty
-these memories are more accessible because they are from the a time period when people experience lots of 'firsts' ex: first kiss or first time driving a car
The working-self: Coherence
Processing of yielding autobiographical memories that are consistent with views that make up the working self -I am an animal lover who once stopped to help a turtle make it safely across the road -Although I am ignoring the fact that I once ran over a frog on my bike
Flashbulb memories
autobiographical memories of the circumstances in which one learned of a public event -they are vivid, clear, and persistent memories of dramatic experiences which we are highly confident in -most people older than their mid-20s have a flashbulb memory for 9/11
Flashbulb Memory Accuracy
we are not sure these memories are any more accurate than other memories -flashbulb memories are subject to distortion just like other memories are, but we FEEL like they are more accurate
Adults vs Children
Childhood amnesia appears to be much more of an adult retrieval problem than it is a childhood memory problem -3 year olds often can remember things they did when they were two, but adults cannot
Field memory vs. observer memory
field memory: Autobiographical and visual memories in which we see the memory as if we were looking at the event through our own eyes. Observer memory: Autobiographical memories in which we take the vantage point of an outside observer and see ourselves as actors in our visual memory. -Many people report "observer memories" from early childhood -In contrast, when reporting later childhood and more recent adult memories, most people describe "field memories." -McIsaac and Eich (2004) found that when patients suffering from PTSD retrieved memories as field memories, their emotional response was more negative and more intense. However, retrieving from an observer perspective lowered the negative emotional response. It is possible that switching to the observer perspective puts some emotional distance between one's sense of self and the memory.
Reminiscence bump
when older people are asked to recall events from their lives, a surprising number of those memories are from the time period of late adolescence and early adulthood -Most memories are recent but the next big bump is the 16-25 year old age range -episodic one -people remember more public events and trivia from this time too -ex: 50 years from now you may have a fairly strong memory of the 2016 election year
Disputed memories
when we feel a memory is our own when it actually corresponds to an event in another's past
Weaver 1993
-Compared an ordinary memory (interaction with classmate) to a flashbulb memory (start of Gulf War) -3 months passed before participants were again asked about each event -results show that accuracy (that is, correspondence with original report) was equivalent for both memories-some errors were seen in both -Confidence remained high for flashbulb memory but not for ordinary memory
Possible explanations of childhood amnesia: Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytic view
-Freudian theory attributes childhood amnesia to repression -he believed that we had sexual feelings for our parents that were so anxiety provoking that we repressed them and memories from the same time period -No evidence to support this view
Possible explanations of childhood amnesia: Changes in Self-Concept
-Infants lack a coherent view of the self as differentiated from their surrounding environment -The idea here is that there is no working self to use as an organizing vehicle for early memories -However, kids at least have some sense of self by age 18 months
Possible explanations of childhood amnesia: Neurological changes
-Information cannot be retrieved because of massive reorganization in neural networks during infancy. Some early neural networks are pruned and new ones also form -One study that shows this compared baby rats to baby guinea pigs and showed that adult rats didn't remember their early baby experiences but guinea pigs did. -Rats are like humans because our brains aren't fully developed like guinea pigs
Possible explanations of childhood amnesia: Changes in Language
-The growth of language ability in the young child provides the structure and narrative schemas necessary to support episodic memories -The incredible shrinking machine: researchers shrank a number of items while 2-4 year old children watch -Researchers then tested the verbal abilities of the children and tested to see if they knew all the words that described the shrunken objects -One year later the children were tested again and it found that they only remembered the items that they had the vocab for at the time of the event
Ordinary Mechanism Approach
-This view is that flashbulb memories are like other episodic memories, but something must make us feel more confident about our memories for these events This feeling could be because.... -such events are highly distinctive, with little danger of their being confused with other events (not as subject to interference) -We tend to talk about these events with others and watch them on TV repeatedly-lots of rehearsal -They tend to give rise to emotions -They are often important events that change some aspect of our lives (consequential)
Possible explanations for the reminiscence bump: Neurological view
-this view is that the brain is operating at its optimal level during this time period and so information is being encoded extremely well -we also know that the RB is universal, which seems to support a biological explanation
Why does keeping a diary help you remember important events from your life?
-we can use diaries to keep a near-veridical record of a person's life so that we can test his or her autobiographical memory later. -Diaries provide a written record by which memories can be compared. As such, diaries are extremely useful tools in the study of autobiographical memory. -they do provide powerful cues to help us retrieve events from our lives. Without them, we are left to the whims of the retrieval cues we can generate or are present around us. Thus, for people who value their own autobiographical memories, diaries can be useful memory aids.
Possible explanations for the reminiscence bump: Sociocultural Views
-we remember things that are valued within our culture and many of these things occur between 16 and 25 -first job, getting married
What does Conway mean by an extended event? How does it differ from an episodic memory?
An extended event is a representational schema of long term episodic memories interconnected. On the other hand, episodic memory is the memory for a single sequence of events.
What is childhood amnesia? What are the four explanations for it? Which explanation works best?
Childhood amnesia describes the incapability of adults to recall events that happened during their infancy and early childhood. There are four possible explanation for Childhood amnesia. First, the psychodynamic view which claims that childhood amnesia is caused by thought repression. Second, the neurological transitions is the view that childhood amnesia is cause by change in the brain as it matures. Third, Influence of language on memory development is the view that language provide the structure necessary to support episodic memories. Finally, age related changes in self-concept is the view that childhood amnesia is caused by the lack of a coherent psychological self. The view with the more supporting evidence is the influence of language on memory. For example, according to a study by Simcock & Hayne, 2002 regardless of gender, children with more linguistic capabilities are more likely to recall events.
What is the cue-word technique? How can it be used to study autobiographical memory?
Cue word technique is method involves giving individuals certain words and asking them to recall any memory linked to the words given to them. Cue word technique is used to test autobiographical memory. It is very probable that the cue word elicits an episodic event of your life.
What are the three levels of Conway's theory of autobiographical memory representation? How do the levels interact?
Definition: Levels of autobiographical memory. -The 3 levels interact but are hierarchical ranging from not specific to very specific. 3) Lifetime periods 2) General events 1) Event-specific memory
Possible explanations of childhood amnesia: Lack of Transfer Appropriate Processing
Differences in encoding/retrieval Language -encoded nonverbally but we try to retrieve verbally Spatial features -ex: perception of the height of a coffee table would be different Time -Kids don't encode in terms of time, but adults try to retrieve based on time Implicit vs Explicit Memory -encoded implicitly, but asked to retrieve explicitly
What is a flashbulb memory? How do these memories differ from ordinary memories? How are they similar to ordinary memories?
Flashbulb memories are episodic memories of surprising evets. Most of the time these events are negative s, however, flashbulbs memories could also include memories such as your first day of school or your first kiss. Flashbulb memories are as accurate as normal memory. However, confidence is high in flashbulb events.
How is the Reminiscence bump tested?
Important Life Events Recall (Keoeppel & Rubin, 2016) -people are asked to report important memories from their lives Cue Word Technique (Rubin, Rahal & Poon, 1996) -people are asked to provide a personal memory for each word presented: table, balloon, blister Tests of Semantic Memory (Rubin, Rahal & Poon, 1996) -Semantic knowledge of things like who won the World Series in certain years Odor Cues (Keoeppel & Rubin, 2016) -When people are presented with olfactory stimuli and asked to recall personal memories that come to mind, the memories tend to be earlier than memories from other cues
Which explanations of childhood amnesia is correct?
Likely to result from a combination of each of these possibilities, except repression (Freud)
Autobiographical memory
Memory of personally experienced events PLUS one's self-knowledge -EX: going fishing off the dock in Florida, floating in an inner tube during family trips to the lake
Event-Specific memory
Memory of personally experienced events stored in episodic memory -ex: no specific memory of sleeping in on Saturday because she was asleep -but has a memory of Beatdown when a picnic table broke while people were dancing on it
childhood amnesia (infantile amnesia)
Refers to adults rarely remembering the early years of their lives -research suggests that almost no one remembers anything from before age 2 and the majority of people recall their first memory as a child at age 3 or later.
general events
The combined, averaged, and cumulative memory of highly similar events -ex: going to Electric Beatdown on Thursday nights, Sleeping in late on Saturday mornings
diary studies
The experimenters or participants record events from their own lives to keep track of events over long periods of time. Later, their memory for these events can be tested.
The working self: Correspondence
The extent to which a retrieved memory matches the actual event that occurred in the past -people can have views of themselves that don't match their actual experiences -ex: someone may think of themselves as a generous person, but they can't think of a time they have been generous. There is poor correspondence between this belief and reality.
Levels of Autobiographical memory (Conway)
The levels interact but are hierarchical 3. Lifetime Periods 2. General Events 1. Event-Specific Memory
Correspondence
The match between the retrieved memory and the actual past event.
Lifetime periods
The personal and idiosyncratic ways in which we organize our autobiographical past -Usually organized by a common theme and may overlap in the actual physical time periods they cover -ex: when I was a student at OSU.... or before I had a child...
What is the reminiscence bump? What three explanations have been put forward to explain it?
The reminiscence bump is the increase in recall of events from adolescence to early adulthood. There are some explanations for this phenomenon. First, the memory fluency, which is based on the idea that during this period memories are high on novelty and uniqueness. Second, the neurological views focus on the idea that young adults have a better encoding system due to the full maturation of the brain. Finally, the sociocultural view is centered on the idea that during adolescence to young adulthood period occur most of the changes in identity formation.
nostalgia
This strong sense of longing for the past as well as its recollection, that is often elicited by odors
What are involuntary memories? What increases their retrieval?
Uninvited memories that seemingly come spontaneously -when our attention is focused elsewhere, we are more likely to find ourselves having involuntary memories.
collaborative memory
Working together with other people to remember information.
The working-self
a complex collection of autobiographical knowledge, goals, and self-images that make up our view of ourselves -I am an animal lover
Studying Flashbulb Memory
researchers started studying after JFK and MLK assassinations -researchers ask people to record their episodic memories on the day of or shortly after a public tragedy, allow time to pass and relocate those individuals to compare their later recalls with their initial report
