Autobiographical Memory Flashcards
Describe wagenaar- diary study
Record 2 events everyday for 5 years (2400 events)
What where who and when cues
Rated freq of salience, emotional intensity and pleasantness
Test memory over 12 months using cues for recall
Findings wagenaar - diary study
Higher recall of events salient at the time for both recent and remote events
Higher recall if event emotionally involving at the time for both recent and remote events
-EVEN IF NO LONGER SALIENT OR EMOTIONALLY INVOLVING -
Describe the galton cueing technique (GCT)
Compare mean response time to recall personal memory when exposed to different cue words
acts as an association task
robinson 1976 GCT
Cue words either action, object or emotion
Faster to recall specific personal events after action or object cue > emotion cue
Specific autobio memory not typically accessed via emotion associated with - recall linked to way organise and store autobiographical memories
More likely to store autobio in terms of actions/objects?
Describe personalised experimental materials
Conway and bekerian 1987 describe
Personal memory Q identify cues for retrieval of specific autobio
Identify 10 general life periods (ie primary school)
List 4-5 general events under each period lasting a few hours to 1-2 months
Give prime word or neutral word the cue and ask to press key if recall personal experience
Personalised experimental materials
Conway and bekerian 1987 findings
Reaction time faster when given specific ‘lifetime period’ prime - Only personal primes were found to significantly facilitate memory retrieval
failed to find any prime effects to primes and cues naming activities not directly related to an individual’s personal history
Model of autobio memory
ams organised in an interlinked hierachial and flexible system - highlights the relevance of personal info
General theme ie your education
Lifetime period ie primary school
General event ie classroom, sports day
Specific memory with event specific memory ie met Julie, could smell… Heard….
How does the autobio model account for the relationship between the self and autobio memory
Highlights relevance of personal info - development of self and autobio thought to develop in parallel or one after the other
Autobio memory across lifespan
Rubin et al 1986
49+ years generate autobio in response to Galton word cues and date memories to cues ie age
Plot no memories recalled across life
Childhood amnesia then Recall highest around 15-25
Decline then recency effect
Conway et al 2005 reminisceince bump acros cultures
bump occur across cultures (UK USA JAPAN CHINA)
but the type of event recalled is subject to change
collectivist > group memories
individualist > self memories
Describe childhood amnesia
Memories as infant likely to be things told and have been repeated/shared with family
Less than 3
Self concept likely to be important in the emergence of autobio memory
childhood amnesia and childrens ability to recall
Fivush and Hammond
Sheffield and Hudson 1994
Mcdonagh and Mandler 1994
Fivush and Hammond - 4 year old recall events of when 2.5 years old
Sheffield and Hudson - 2 year olds recall lab study took part in 6m prior
Mcdonagh and Mandler - 2yrs mime recall actions learn when 11m
Although cog skills still developing, amnesia not primarily due to poor encoding as show can remember
What do wheeler stuss and tulving 1997 infant AMs
2-3y/os can recall some specific events p to 12m prev
BUT recall argued not to be AM
recollection of factual info
When does wheeler stuss and tulving argue self concept begins to emerge and how does it impact autobio
Around 18-24 months
Only sufficiently developed for autobio around 3 years
How does our awareness of our physical self develop in infancy
3 m - learn to discriminate facial features from other infants
18m respond to smudge seen in mirror and embarrassed
22-24m say name when see self
How does our psychological awareness of self develop in infancy (povinelli and Simon describe)
4-5 NOT 3 show delayed recog of past
- 3,4&5 years videoed playing game while sticker placed on heads and removed after game
- Week later play diff game and sicker placed on head
- Half watch visit 1. Half watch visit 2.
How does psychological awareness of self develop (povinelli and Simon results)
Less than 50% of 3years in both sessions reached for sticker
Majority of 4-5years reached for sticker in session 2. But not 1.
What does povinelli and Simon results suggest about infant self concept
4 and 5 y/os develop sense of self that develops over time
Understand that “temporary” extended self existing in past and present - could distinguish between the two sessions
tulving 1999
Why must autobio memories be linked to a self concept
Autobio memory system of mental time travel through subjective time - individual experience through autonoetic awareness
Without self concept, specific memories are episodic but not autobio
define autonoetic awareness
ability to mentally place ourselves in the past, in the future, or in counterfactual situations, and to analyze our own thoughts. Our sense of self affects our behavior, in the present, past and future
How is the self thought to link to the cognitive system
self memory system Conway 2005
“Retrieval cycle” - elaborate a cue, activate search for autobio in knowledge base, eval control processess - output then terminate or recycle
recycle = elaboration of info until retrieve specific memory
Conway 2004
self memory system describe
retrieval of autobio depend on model in supervisory system of the working self and AM knowledge base (LTM)
self is a complex set of active goals and associated self-images - ‘working self’
relationship between working self and long-term knowledge base is reciprocal, where autobiographical knowledge constrains what the self is, has been, and can be, & the working self-modulates access to long-term knowledge
define the working self - Conway
goal management
contains an active goal hierarchy - Concept of self reflects current goals and priorities where current goal is most “active”
- reduce discrepancies between desired goal and current state in regulation of behavior
Create a temporary model of task demands and constraints - retrieve specific memory to cue providing ESK
Therefore autobio are records of success or failure of goal attainment
Define the conceptual self - Conway
working self-conceptual knowledge of non temporary conceptual self-structures ie attitudes, values and beliefs.
Exist independent of specific incidents but connected to autobiographical knowledge and the episodic memory system to activate specific instances that exemplify, contextualize, and ground their underlying themes or concepts
Describe baddleys working memory model
For binding, coordination, shifting, selective attention and inhibition
Central exec/supervisory system controls the flow of information
Controls flow of slave system info: phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad(STM) and episodic buffer (link info across domains)
What is an autobiographical memory
complex memories of events with sig self reference that extends across our lifespan - relate to semantic memory
high self reerence - give feeling of reliving
detailed, vivid and high in imagery
Autobio memory in old age
ford et al 2014
overgenerality effect
adults >60y/o retrieve more generalised/ledd specific AMs than younger individuals
presented old and young with musical clips and ask to retrieve assoc ams - manipulating for specific, general or unrestricted memories
young modulate to task demands but not older
Abram et al 2014 autobio memory in old age
Lifespan study of 6-81 years
Older recall fewer specific/episodic details and more semantic/conceptual info or traits and general info
Retrograde amnesia and autobio memory
Retrograde amnesiacs can reward past but only because told the events that have happened and therefore do not personally recollect the memories in terms of their sensory-perceptual data
AMs likely rely on specific recall of sensory and perceptual data
Autobio memory and brain region activation
cabeza et al 2007
AMS relate to areas assoc with visuospatial imagery - posterior brain regions
look at contrast activity when look at pictures self take or others take
observer and field activate episodic memory network - med temp lobe and PFC
self reference processing - mPFC
visuospatial memory- ACC, parahippocampus + EMOTION - amyg
Search and retrieval of autobio - left lateral PFC
Monitoring of autobio - ventromedial PFC
Self - medial PFC
AM across individuals
Greenberg and knowlton 2014
Visual imagery assoc with feeling of reliving autobio memories
BUT auditory imagery > than visual imagery in ‘verbalisers’ compared to ‘visualisers’
ALSO test 2 pps with self report absence of visual imagery - lacked auditory and less likely to feel as though reliving memories
Define the observer perspective (nigro and neisser 1983)
Seeing a past event and yourself within the event - as though observing self
Define field perspective (nigro and neisser 1983)
Seeing event as though looking through own eyes
Describe nigro and Neisser 1983 assoc between observer and field perspective in AMS
Recall autobio to cue
52% recall as field 37% recall as observer - 12% neither
Cue vary in emotional intensity and self awareness- field 48% observer 43% and neither 9%
Field more vivid and recalled more recently (15m) than observer (35m)
Emotionally intense and high self awareness = observer
Focus in feelings field 69% > focus on concrete objective details field 54%
Mcissac and eich PTSD field observer
Most recall from field 64%
Field more emotional and anxiety provoking
BUT ob and field both maintain image and grew of event recall and richness of detail
Field detail focus on feelings and internal state but ob focus on external - provides relief but may impede LTM
Describe cabeza et al photos and self
Contest photos taken by self and by someone else
Both activate episodic memory system - medial temp and PFC
Autobio assoc greater activity in medial PFC (self ref processing), visual and parahoppocampal (visual/spatial memory and hipp (recollection)
William Conway and cohen 2008
why do we need autobio memory
directive function
social function
self representative function
cope with adversity
William Conway and cohen 2008
directive function of autobio
reflect on what happened/what did last time
William Conway and cohen 2008
social function of autobio
reminisce - build bonds with others
William Conway and cohen 2008
self representative function of autobio
recog who ou are and your identity
William Conway and cohen 2008
cope with adversity in autobio
reflect on past
think of pos events in life
problem with diary studies (waagenar)
select events likely to be memorable
retrieval and rehearsal process of writing down could mean that processing atypically
brewer 1988 alternative diary study
gave 10 pps beeper and recorder to sample events at random points in day then ask to recall
26% correct
28% incorrect
46% no recall
rubin and Bernstein 2003 ams across life and culture
ams we recall are likely to follow culturally accepted “life script” events - events that we expect to occur to us within our lives
79% 10-14y/os predict future using life scripts
freud childhood amnesia
gave first account arguing that occurs due to defense mechanisms to protect self from threatening life events
BUT ignores the role of positive>neg experiences
howe and courage 1997 ams and infancy
development of ams argued to follow after the development of our sense of self
develop self reflection - provides a new way to form and structure memory
field 1979 early infant AM development
3m in mirror exploration look sig longer at self compared to when attend to peers
when attend to peers - vocalise and smile more
ability to discriminate ourselves from those around us at an early age 199
nelson and fivush 2004 sociocultural development theory of autobio memory
am develops gradually via social interaction and cog dev
account for culture, gender and indiv diff in formation of ams
incorporate a variety of skills: lang narrative, temporal and self concept, consciousness, social concepts
- threshold barrier overcome around 4-5 that permits gradual increase in autobio recall
as not all or nothing - dependent on emotional salience etc
wheeler et al mental time travel and childhood amnesia
cant recall under 3y/o because cant mentally time travel therefore events are factual and not personally experiences
define Conway 2005 AM knowledge base
in LTM
represents episodic and AM knowledge in a hierachian structure
retrieval of AM via SS/CE which creates a remp model of task demands and retraints
AMs are records of successes and failures of goal attainment
age AM decline and wellbeing
decline of AMs related to dev of depression and reduced wellbeing/satisfaction with life
age AM and depression
speer et al 2014
fMRI scan
Enhanced activity in striatum and mPFC assoc w/ increases in positive emotion during recall
striatal engagement correlate w/individual measures of resiliency
Striatal response in recall of positive memories greater in individuals whose mood improved after the task.
recall of pos AMs intrinsically valuable - adaptive for regulating positive emotion and promoting better well-being.
chen takahashi and yang 2015
age AM and depression
retrieving positive memories may be a useful strategy in everyday mood regulation for healthy people, but not for people with depression
Patients with depression have difficulty in retrieving positive memories. More fundamentally, in face of positive memories, their dysfunctional reward circuitry may inhibit them from up-regulating positive moods
PTSD
post traumatic stress disorder
assoc with feeling of reliving traumatic event
mcIssac and eich 2004 PTSD and AMs
most PTSD recall from field (64%) - more emotional and anxiety proviking, greater focus on feeling and internal states
CBT - may be able to train to recall in observer perspective - highlight discrepancy between remembered past and present and accentuates change and prevents traumatic event becoming part of central identity?
Finnbogadottir and bernsen 2014
observer perspective and PTSD counterproductive
training observer perspective may function as avoidance
alleviate emotional intensity in ST but maintain disress in LT
