unit 7

Question 1

what is autobiographical memories?

Answer 1

memories are personal experiences, always present

Question 2

what is autobiographical facts?

Answer 2

facts are general knowledge about oneself, rarely present

Question 3

what are the 3 main functions of autobiographical memory?

Answer 3

1. directive
2. emotional
3. communicative

Question 4

describe directive autobiographical memory.

Answer 4

help guide future behavior
/remembering events from when we learned something valuable

Question 5

describe emotional autobiographical memory.

Answer 5

helps us organize, reflect on, and think through life problems

Question 6

describe communicative autobiographical memory.

Answer 6

our communications seem more truthful, believable, persuasive
increases sense of initimacy and connection with others
enhances empathy, sharing

Question 7

explain the challenges of studying autobiographical memory.

Answer 7

1. researchers dont control the content
2. may have occured long ago
3. accuracy can be difficult to assess

Question 8

what are 3 methods of investigating autobiographical memory?

Answer 8

1. targeted event recall
2. diary technique
3. cue-word technique

Question 9

describe targeted event recall.

Answer 9

recall particular events or well-defined periods of life

Question 10

describe diary technique.

Answer 10

keep track of daily events.

Question 11

describe cue-word technique.

Answer 11

generates memories in response to word cues

Question 12

which technique has been used to produce the autobiographical retention function.

Answer 12

a graph of memory recall over life, showing childhood amnesia, reminscence bump, and recency effects

Question 13

what is meant by childhood amnesia?

Answer 13

almost no memory before ages 3-4

Question 14

what are some potential explanations for childhood amnesia?

Answer 14

brain development -> hippocampus
language development -> ages 2-4

Question 15

what is meant by the reminscence bump?

Answer 15

disproportionately large number of memories recalled from ages 10-30

Question 16

what sort of verbal retrieval cues are usually best for cueing autobiographical memories?

Answer 16

distinctive cues are the best!

Question 17

can oder be an effective cue for autobiographical memory?

Answer 17

YES, olfactory cues can be very powerful

Question 18

what is proust phenomenon?

Answer 18

when odors elicit, old, vivid memories

Question 19

in terms of the autobiographical retention function, where does cue words fall in between?

Answer 19

reminscence bump

Question 20

in terms of the autobiographical retention function, where does cue odors fall in betweeen?

Answer 20

older memories (before age 10)

Question 21

what is the encoding specificity principle?

Answer 21

the cues that best promote retrieval are the ones that match the conditions at encoding

Question 22

explain what it means to say that autobiographical memory is “reconstructed’?

Answer 22

reconstructed: when we recall a past event from our lives, we are not simply replaying a perfect recording of what happened, but rather actively piecing together a narrative based on fragments of our original experience.

Question 23

are autobiographical memories always true?

Answer 23

NO

Question 24

what are flashbulb memories? are they usually confidently held memories?

Answer 24

flashbulb memories: detailed, vivid, and confidently held memory for the circumstances surrounding when you heard some startling bit of news (emotionally charged event)
*usually confidently held memories, but can be inaccurate

Question 25

how is flashbulb special, how is it the same?

Answer 25

special because: intensified by emotion
- distinctive, personal salience, high degree of rehearsal
similar because: involves the same reconstructive process and possible distractions as other memories

Question 26

to what might we attribute the vividness of flashbulb memories?

Answer 26

-emotion
-distinctiveness
-personal salience
-rehearsal