6 Flashcards
(60 cards)
autobiographic memories
memory about ourselves, consisting of episodic and semantic memories
importance of autobiographical memories
shared experiences between people increase bonds and creates a self-representation for a stable identity
what are researchers concerned with when studying autobiographical memories, how is this different from the goals of studying semantic memories
quality, not quantity of memories. for semantic its mostly quality
why is it hard to study autobiographical memory? what methods are there to study it
hard to measure memory for public events, you need to confirm the memory with family members (more people confirming means more likely, but people may talk about memory, affecting truth). diary studies can record memories of around 6 months. however, these may be self picked, therefore some notifs tell people to write diaries randomly. there will be elaborate rehearsal as an issue in both tho
do we recall more positive or negative memories on average, why
positive, because emotion enhances consolidation
infantile amnesia, what is it
inability to remember stuff before u were 2. any such memories are likely false memories from a retelling, or are not fully episodic (patches of memories)
does infantile amnesia affect memory forms other than explicit episodic memory
no
when is there a less severe form of infantile amnesia
less than 10 years of age. young kids forget things faster
why is infantile amnesia hard to investigate
there are no diary studies, important events can’t be studied. early memories are hard to verify, memories may be from a secondary source, and participants have trouble dating the memory. only method is the family member strat
despite the difficulties, how is infantile amnesia studied
free recall tasks or target events/probe words as cues to recall early memories
what causes infantile amnesia
retrieval, not encoding. kids can remember infanthood, not adults
original theory on why infantile amnesia happens
development of hippocampus and frontal lobes are required for autobiographical memory. early memories occur before hippocampus and prefrontal cortex fully mature.
issues with original theory on infantile amnesia
frontal lobe only finishes developing in the early 20s
josselyn and frankland proposed what about infantile amnesia
rapid hippocampal development leads to forgetting. this area is very underdeveloped until one is 3/4 years old.
language development affecting infantile amnesia. evidence of this effect?
language is required for forming autobiographical memories. before that, memories are nonlinguistic and without a narrative form. evidenced by children having stronger linguistic skills at encoding having more early memories. children whose mothers elaborated on daily events, and how memories encoded in a nonverbal form stay that way.
how is infantile amnesia supporting of the encoding specificity theory
differences in state dependent learning. adults have more regulated emotions than infants
simcock and hayne experiments on infantile amnesia
importance of language in autobiographical memories was proven by having two to four year olds watch objects to through a “shrinking machine”. for words that they knew the name of at the time of encoding, the children were more likely to remember a year later. the verbal label appearing after encoding does not matter
modern conclusions about what causes infantile amnesia
self-concept (you need to know you are an entity separate from the world, which is not achieved during infancy) and language skills are related
reminiscence bump
memories of life tend to peak in adolescence or early adulthood, observed for autobiographical and semantic memories
four hypotheses for reminescence bump
cogntive hypothesis, cultural life script hypothesis, self image hypothesis, maturational account.
which two hypotheses for the reminescence bump are leading, why
the external hypotheses: cogitive and cultural life script hypotheses. because it can explain a reminiscence bump that occurs due to a large life event like emigration.
cognitive hypotheis
memories in early adulthood occur in periods of rapid change followed by stability. so elaborate and distinct cues are likely. there is nothing special causing the bump, it depends on what is happening in life. people tend to elaborate on good times (me when i think about my cioccolata wig)
self image hypotheses
formation of personal identity makes memories for that time stronger. self reference effect (things related to urself will be better remembered). losing favor
maturational account hypothesis
cognitive processes are at the maximum during a period of reminiscence bump. also at physical peak, to potentially help attract a mate (?)
