unit 7 Flashcards
what is autobiographical memories?
memories are personal experiences, always present
what is autobiographical facts?
facts are general knowledge about oneself, rarely present
what are the 3 main functions of autobiographical memory?
- directive
- emotional
- communicative
describe directive autobiographical memory.
help guide future behavior
/remembering events from when we learned something valuable
describe emotional autobiographical memory.
helps us organize, reflect on, and think through life problems
describe communicative autobiographical memory.
our communications seem more truthful, believable, persuasive
increases sense of initimacy and connection with others
enhances empathy, sharing
explain the challenges of studying autobiographical memory.
- researchers dont control the content
- may have occured long ago
- accuracy can be difficult to assess
what are 3 methods of investigating autobiographical memory?
- targeted event recall
- diary technique
- cue-word technique
describe targeted event recall.
recall particular events or well-defined periods of life
describe diary technique.
keep track of daily events.
describe cue-word technique.
generates memories in response to word cues
which technique has been used to produce the autobiographical retention function.
a graph of memory recall over life, showing childhood amnesia, reminscence bump, and recency effects
what is meant by childhood amnesia?
almost no memory before ages 3-4
what are some potential explanations for childhood amnesia?
brain development -> hippocampus
language development -> ages 2-4
what is meant by the reminscence bump?
disproportionately large number of memories recalled from ages 10-30
what sort of verbal retrieval cues are usually best for cueing autobiographical memories?
distinctive cues are the best!
can oder be an effective cue for autobiographical memory?
YES, olfactory cues can be very powerful
what is proust phenomenon?
when odors elicit, old, vivid memories
in terms of the autobiographical retention function, where does cue words fall in between?
reminscence bump
in terms of the autobiographical retention function, where does cue odors fall in betweeen?
older memories (before age 10)
what is the encoding specificity principle?
the cues that best promote retrieval are the ones that match the conditions at encoding
explain what it means to say that autobiographical memory is “reconstructed’?
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.
are autobiographical memories always true?
NO
what are flashbulb memories? are they usually confidently held memories?
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
how is flashbulb special, how is it the same?
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
to what might we attribute the vividness of flashbulb memories?
-emotion
-distinctiveness
-personal salience
-rehearsal
