Remembering Complex Events Flashcards
True or False
Our memories are the product of a creative process.
True
Autobiographical Memory
The combination of episodic memory and semantic memory. Also, multidimensional: spatial emotional, sensory, etc. components.
The sensory information is important.
In an experiment, participants were asked to take pictures at different locations on campus. They were then shown the pictures that they took and pictures someone else took at the same location.
What did the researchers find?
In the image (a), we show brain activity when the participant’s pictures were displayed. In the image (b), we see the brains activity when someone else’s pictures are being displayed.
Here, researchers saw that the autobiographical memory was completely different from any other types of memories.
Notice the Parietal cortex was activated in both cases. However, regions related to visual space and
recollection such as the parahippocampal gyrus was activated more by the participant’s own photos.
What determines what particular life events we will remember?
- Personal milestones
- Meaningful events
- Emotional events
In an experiment, participants over 40 tended to remember more events from their adolescence and early adulthood. Why?
There are 3 different hypotheses that could explain this:
- Self-image hypothesis
- Cognitive hypothesis
- Cultural Life Script hypothesis
Self-image Hypothesis
Enhanced memory for events that occurred during self-image formation or identity formation.
To get to this conclusion, participants were ask to write statements such as “I am a mother”, I am a “psychologist”, etc.
Cognitive Hypothesis
Period of change followed by a period of stability leads to stronger memory encoding.
In this study, some of the participants immigrated when they were in their 20s and some in their 30s. For the participants that immigrated in their 30s, they recalled more things at that stage in their life.
Cultural Life Script Hypothesis
Distinguishes personally experienced events from culturally expected events.
In a study, participants were asked when important events in their lives happened.
it was noticed that there was a greater number of memories for events that followed the cultural life script.
What events compose the autobiographical memory?
- Emotional events
In an experiment, participants were asked to remember words that were either emotional or neutral. Researchers noticed that emotions words were better recalled.
This same experiment was performed with pictures as well. Actually emotional pictures were hols in memory even a year later.
How do emotions affect our memory?
Emotional arousal promotes memory consolidation.
Emotional events trigger a response in the amygdala. This increases the activity in the hippocampus since it is right beside the amygdala. However, sometimes, since these processes work so close together, some factors such as stress, fatigue or trauma may interrupt this process and the connection between this process which indicates that there is a disruption. Because of this, it might require more resources for consolidating memory. Sometimes causing no memories at all for the events that are very traumatic for the individual.
Emotion can do other things to our memories:
- Might improve the attentional focus
- Might improve memory consolidation
- Dictate goals
Flashbulb Memories
Memories like pictures as if the world stopped.
Very emotional and remembered for a long period of time.
This research was flawed! Participants were only asked about these memories years later and they had no way to confirm the events.
What does the studies of the Flashbulb memories tell us?
Specific context influences memory. Memory is a construction based on “what happened” + other influences.
Pragmatic Influence
When words in sentences are replaced by similar words or words that fit the context.
Schema
A person’s knowledge of some aspect in the environment.
