C. 2008 Pearson Allyn & Bacon Remembering the Personal Past Chapter 8.

c. 2008 Pearson Allyn & Bacon

Remembering the Personal Past

Chapter 8


Everyday MemoryOverview There has been a recent

emphasis on the study of memory in everyday contexts An increase in ecological

validity

Critics worry about sufficient controls; attempt to focus on simpler questions


Autobiographical MemoryOverview Autobiographical Memory:

Memory for a specific life experience

Autobiographical Fact General (context-free) knowledge about oneself

and one’s personal history


Autobiographical MemoryMethods of Investigation Targeted Event Recall

Subjects recall particular events or life periods

Diary Technique Subjects keep track of daily events; Allows for assessment of memory accuracy

Cue-Word Technique Memories generated in response to word cues Allows for assessment of autobiographical

retention function


Autobiographical MemoryAutobiographical Retention Function Lifespan recall of

autobiographical memories reveals a consistent pattern Features:

Forgetting curve Reminiscence Bump Childhood Amnesia


Autobiographical Retention FunctionChildhood Amnesia Childhood amnesia refers to a relative paucity of

memories from early childhood Virtually no memories from prior to age 3 or 4

Usher and Neisser (1993) had subjects recall events that could be corroborated

Varying patterns as a function of event


Autobiographical Retention FunctionChildhood Amnesia Possible reasons for childhood amnesia:

Brain development Declarative memory (basis for episodic memory)

slow to develop, relative to procedural

Doesn’t account for finding that episodic memories can be formed well before age 3-4


Autobiographical Retention FunctionChildhood Amnesia Possible reasons for childhood amnesia:

Development of Language Remembering personal past depends on ability to

converse with others about it

Development of Self Remembering personal past depends on the

knowledge that one has unique set of experiences


Autobiographical Retention FunctionChildhood Amnesia Social-Cognitive Development

Nelson & Fivush emphasize the gradual emergence of autobiographical memory

Emergence depends upon memory talk, a developing sense of time and “theory of mind”

Emergence of autobiographical memory will vary across individuals and cultures as a function of these variables.


Autobiographical Retention FunctionReminiscence Bump Autobiographical retention function features

disproportionate recall from ages 15-35. A “reminiscence bump”

Accounts of the reminiscence bump: Important and distinctive events, often-rehearsed Peak brain functioning occurs in early adulthood Identity formation occurs


Autobiographical Retention FunctionForgetting Retention function reveals a standard forgetting

function for recent events

Forgetting due to event similarity and interference

Lack of distinctiveness


Autobiographical MemoryRetrieval Factors Encoding specificity in autobiographical memory

Cues for personal memories will be more effective to the degree that they provide overlap with encoding circumstances

Marian and Neisser (2000) investigated autobiographical memory in Russian-English bilinguals


Gave subjects cue words in one of their 2 languages

Memory retrieved tended to match language of cue

In a second study, varied both interview language and cue word language

Interview language was the more powerful cue

Autobiographical MemoryRetrieval Factors


Autobiographical MemoryRetrieval Factors Wagenaar (1986) and Brewer (1986) investigated

“W” cues for autobiographical memory “What” – activity cues; most effective “Where” – location cues “When” – time cues “Who” – people cues

Odors tend to be effective cues for personal memories Proust phenomenon: the apparent power of odors to

elicit memories that are especially old and vivid


Autobiographical MemorySelf-Memory System Conway and colleagues propose a

self-memory system

Autobiographical memories as constructed from personal knowledge base with three levels

Lifetime Periods General Events Event-Specific Knowledge

Particular construction depends on plans and goals


Autobiographical MemoryInvoluntary Memories Many autobiographical memories occur

spontaneously, in the absence of an explicit cue

Relative to voluntary memories, involuntary memories are more likely to be:

For specific rather than general events For positive events rather than negative events

(a Pollyanna Effect) For recent events Associated with a vivid “re-living”


Autobiographical MemoryEmotion and Autobiographical Memory Flashbulb Memory

a detailed, vivid, and confidently held memory for the circumstances surrounding when you heard some startling bit of news

They typically contain five components Location Activity Source Emotion Aftermath


Emotion and Autobiographical MemoryFlashbulb Memory What produces a flashbulb memory?

Special physiological mechanism? Not likely: flashbulb errors can include (serious) inaccuracies

Neisser and Harsch studied flashbulb memories for the 1986 Challenger disaster

“Phantom flashbulbs” Distortions revealed TV priority and time-slice errors.


Emotion and Autobiographical MemoryFlashbulb Memory Vividness of flashbulb memories is most likely due to:

Distinctiveness Rehearsal Personal Salience Emotion

Memories for September 11 attacks Pezdek (2004) investigated flashbulb memory in

subjects differing in proximity to the attacks


Emotion and Autobiographical MemoryFlashbulb Memory

Pezdek (2004) compared New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers on two types of memory

Event memory – Aspects of the actual event Autobiographical memory – How a person learned

about the event

Found that stress enhanced memory for aspects of event being closely monitored

New Yorkers: The event itself Non-New Yorkers: How they heard about the event


Emotion and Autobiographical Memory Mood and Autobiographical Memory Mood-Dependent Memory

Retrieval of a previously encoded event is enhanced when the mood experienced at retrieval matches the mood present at encoding

Depressed individuals are more likely to retrieve negative memories

Tendency is to recall overly general memories Obstructs problem solving?


Autobiographical Memory Functions of Autobiographical Memory

Autobiographical remembering serves a number of important functions: Communicative

Offer a greater sense of intimacy and connection Emotional

Helps us think through life problems Directive

Can serve to guide future life course

C. 2008 Pearson Allyn & Bacon Remembering the Personal Past Chapter 8.

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