Lecture 2 Autobiographical memory

Question 1

define autobiographical memory

Answer 1

specific, personal, and longlasting memory regarding the self
long lasting and imbued with meaning

Question 2

define infantile amnesia

Answer 2

inability to remember events from the first 3 years of life - only remember younger events when attached to a strong emotion

Question 3

what does infantile amnesia suggest

Answer 3

that there is something either qualtitativey or quantitatively different between an infants or an adults memory

Question 4

what is a non specific memory

Answer 4

episodic

Question 5

define recognition memory

Answer 5

doesnt involve effortful retrieval of infomation - realising that have previously encounted the information ie mcqs

Question 6

define recall memory

Answer 6

retrieval of info that is not perceptually present and therefore requires effort

Question 7

define qualitative difference

Answer 7

the way the information is encoded stored and recalled is differennt

Question 8

define quantitative difference

Answer 8

the amount of memory held is different

Question 9

how is recall tested in adults

Answer 9

object/word/digit recall where actively pull info from memory

Question 10

testing recall in infants: delayed imitation study (Meltzoff and moore)

Answer 10

present atypical action and see if infant imitate - ability to recall complex action begins around 3months
group 1 watch and group 2 watch+imitate

Question 11

why do infants imitate

Answer 11

Infants have a primitive ability to imitate those around them - allows to learn behaviours from other people as well as develop a greater understanding of others - ie recog similarities in behaviour with others

Question 12

Results of meltzoff and moore imitation study

Answer 12

recall acts after delays of 2 and 4 months but significantly less than immediate - different in memory not qualitative and must be quantitive (not remember as well)

Question 13

what is maternal speech

Answer 13

parents talk to child about past events from as young as 11/2 years

Question 14

Why might maternal speech be beneficial for children

Answer 14

allows to develop personalised narrative of past events that gradually becomes more organised and detailed

Question 15

define elaborative maternal speech

Answer 15

mother provide narrative structure for recalll
generate a discussion
volunteer own recollections and evaluation
ask child own views and feelings
ask varied questions about what remember
provide additional info and alows to recog own memory

Question 16

define repetitive speech

Answer 16

repeat same question to child regardless of interest and without providing additional info
repeat same q until get desired response

Question 17

describe hudson 1990 recog/recall memory and elab/repetitive speech

Answer 17

test recall memory in children with high or low elab mothers
both have good recall of recent events BUT voeral recall of past is worse in love elab
spontaneious offers of info without prompts to recall significantly greater for old memories in elab > repetitive mothers
elab - reinforce memory and increase level of detail
repetitive forget more about remote events

Question 18

describe bost et al 2006 benefit of elab

Answer 18

expands memory
forms shared history - strengthens relationship between adult and infants
better organised and more elab memories

Question 19

problem with hudson 1990

Answer 19

correlational relationship not causational - dont know if influenced by own development or specifically by parental influence

Question 20

describe reese and newcombe 2007 longditudinal study of elaborative parents

Answer 20

elab training of parent - observe if affects accuracy and narrative quality of recall

test memory betwen 19m and 31/2 years

Question 21

results of reese and newcombe 2007

Answer 21

children of trained mothers recalled and participated more in conversation, using more narrative description, actions and evaluations
right rates of accurate info and more action references if higher self awareness at start of the study
generalised parents reminiscing style to self

Question 22

how might elaborative mothers be improving memory of infants

Answer 22

improvement in the development of schemas - help recognise commonly occuring and novel events

Question 23

define schema confirmation

Answer 23

child focuses on the ypical aspects of a routine that not yet formed a schema for - pat attention to the repeate occurances to confirm schema of common events

Question 24

define schema deployment

Answer 24

based on schema of what is typically occuring, identify what is atypical about a situation and recognise the deviations from the norm - info that is remembered is likely to be distinct and different

Question 25

describe farrar and goodman 1992 schema learning

Answer 25

day 1 - child experience unusual episodic event or typical scripted event and is then interviewed

day 4- x3 scripted events then 1 unusual then interview

Question 26

results of farrar and goodman 1992 schema learning DAY 1

Answer 26

day 1 -
4 year old no scema for event so dont recall much in either condition (schema confirm)
7 year olds greater experience of events so recall sig greater for unusual than typical (deploy)

Question 27

results of farrar and goodman 1992 schema learning DAY 4

Answer 27

4 year recall less overall but more scripted events

7 year old recall more atypical events than scripted but less day 4 than day 1 - aspects of atypical become typical and therefore ignored

Question 28

how is infantile amnesia a paradox

Answer 28

stage in infancy where most learning occurs and et cant recall

Question 29

how does schema confirmation/deploment explain infantile amnesia

Answer 29

infants mostly in confirmation stage - focus on way the world works and therefore easily forget in later life as mostly general info

Question 30

nelso 1995 alt explanation to infantile amnesia

Answer 30

hippocampal and prefrontal cortex development allows explicit memory system to develop - conscious awareness of events according to self

Question 31

problem with nelson 1995 alt explanation of infantile amnesia

Answer 31

infant retention increase with training and therefore can engage in conscious recall - processing not fundamentally different from adults

Question 32

describe josselyn and frankland 2012 hippocampal neurogenesis explanation of infantile amnesia

Answer 32

high hippocampal neurogenesis in infancy (new neurons integrate into hippocampal circuit and replace pre existing synaptic connections) promote memory degradation

Question 33

what impedes infant ability to develop autobiographical memories

Answer 33

must first develop their sense of self image (2y/o) and be able to organise events narratively before they can construct and recall significant self memories

Question 34

how are elaborative mothers thought to help improve childrens memory

Answer 34

help re establish and reorganise memory
recall more info about past events and more organised/detailed stories after 1-2 years
imporve episodic
create a shared history - close relationships and self understanding

Question 35

schema confirmation/deployment and age

Answer 35

the stage that a person may be in during a typical or atypical event that determines what they recall is not determined by age but by experience - whether or not they deem something to be typical or not
- when first experience, everything is atypical so recall all
when become typical - only recall what diverts from norm/what expect