Autobiographical memory

Question 1

What is autobiographical memory?

Answer 1

How we remember events from our lives. A combination of specific memories. Links with self-knowledge.

Question 2

Semantic memory

Answer 2

our memory of knowledge

Question 3

How can we research autobiographical memory?

Answer 3

• private events (cue word techniques, diary studies)
• public events (flashbulb memories)
• previous life events
• creation of new episodic memories through lab experiments

Question 4

Diary studies

Answer 4

used to keep a near-truth record of a person’s life so we can test his or her autobiographical memory later

Question 5

Diary studies - advantage

Answer 5

measure memory for events that really happen in a person’s life, and are recorded that day

Question 6

Diary studies - disadvantages

Answer 6

• at the longer retention intervals tend to depend on diaries of interested parties themselves

Question 7

Theory of representation (Conway and Pleydell-Pearce, 2000)

Answer 7

• the major theory that organises research on autobiographical memory is a hierarchical model of autobiographical memory

Question 8

Representations of AM

Answer 8

how our memories are stored and organised for retrieval

Question 9

lifetime periods

Answer 9

idiosyncratic ways we organise our past

Question 10

Event specific memories

Answer 10

individual events stored in episodic memory

Question 11

general events

Answer 11

combined and cumulative memory of similar events

Question 12

Two different forms of memory included in general events -

Answer 12

• combined

- extended events

Question 13

Combined memories

Answer 13

• integrate and interpret across individual events

- our lives are filled with repeating cycles of events

Question 14

extended events memories

Answer 14

• long series of episodic events

- different form averaged memory in that it is memory of a single sequence of events that occurred only once

Question 15

organistion of events

Answer 15

Specific events are organised into general events, which are organised into lifetime periods

Question 16

Working self functions to keep 2 features of memory intact

Answer 16

• coherence

- correspondence

Question 17

Coherence

Answer 17

processes that yield autobiographical memories which are consistent with the working self

Question 18

correspondence

Answer 18

the retrieval autobiographical memory should actually correspond accurately to the reality of the past

Question 19

working self can lead to conflicts

Answer 19

coherence wants to keep memories consistent with our views of ourselves, correspondence works to keep memories accurate

Question 20

Reminiscence bump

Answer 20

Memory fluency - between 16-25 years, many ‘first experiences’, unique and novel.

Question 21

Neurological views of reminiscence bump

Answer 21

Young adults have most efficient encoding system, as it is time of optimal maturation of brain mechanisms of memory before the inevitable decline in memory abilities associated with age.