Definitions
Define Autobiographical Memories.
Memory for specific experiences from our life, which can include both episodic and semantic components.
Memories in ‘real life’ are more _________ than memories in the laboratory.
complicated
What age range do people retain the most memories from?
10 yo - late 20's
“Special” events are more likely to be __________, but they are not necessarily remembered ________.
remembered; accurately
What was the original (incorrect) proposed mechanism that flashbulb memories work through?
A “NowPrint!” mechanism suggesting that when such an event occurred, a special mechanism preserved the memory exactly as it happened, producing a long lasting, very detailed and very vivid memory.
(FALSE)
Define Infantile Amnesia.
The inability of adults to retrieve episodic memories before the age of 2-4 years, as well as the period before the age of 10 of which adults retain fewer memories than might otherwise be expected given the passage of time.
What two things do memories in real life involve that memories in laboratory settings usually do not?
May draw upon all five senses and often involve emotions
What ages do most people's earliest memories usually come from?
2.5 to 5 years
Memories associated with what kind of emotions tend to be remembered better?
Strong emotions
Why are people so confident that they remember emotional memoires exactly as they happened?
Emotion increases the feeling of remembering and our memory that the event occurred.
Describe the Remember/Know Procedure.
A memory task used to distinguish between two types of retrieval: remembering (episodic memory) and knowing (semantic memory).
What two researchers conducted an experiment to distinguish between the way brains function when remembering one's own memories of taking a photo versus the brain functions when viewing a photo for the second time?
Rubin and Cabeza
Describe the Self-Image Hypothesis for explaining why the Reminiscent Bump happens.
Memory is enhanced for events that occur as a person’s self-image or life identity is being formed.
Activity from which brain structure activates for emotional events and enhances consolidation?
The amygdala
Describe the Weapons Focus Effect as it related to emotional memories. What details are focused on more and which are missed?
Attention is drawn to the weapon, reducing encoding and memory for other details of the crime.
Emotional events improve memory of the gist of the event, but hurt our ability to remember peripheral details.
What is the Reminiscence Bump?
The tendency for people over 40 to have a disproportionately high number of memories from their adolescent and early adult years (roughly ages 10-30).
What were the findings of Rubin and Cabeza's study involving viewing pictures of lived memoires versus simply viewing an image taken by someone else again?
Using fMRI, they found that certain brain areas (PFC, hippocampus) are more active and the brain has more widespread activation when viewing one's own images.
Describe the Culture-Life Script Hypothesis for explaining why the Reminiscent Bump happens.
Cultural Life Script: Culturally expected events that occur at a particular time in the life span.
Events are easier to recall when they fit the cultural life script; the script gives us more retrieval cues.
What are Flashbulb Memories?
Extremely vivid, long-lasting memories for unexpected, emotionally laden, and consequential events.
Do flashbulb memories arise from unique cognitive processes?
No, they likely also arise from “normal” memory processes.
Describe the Galton-Crovitz Cueing Technique for studying autobiographical memories. What is its purpose.
This technique involves giving people a list of words and asking them to respond with the first autobiographical memory that comes to mind.
We can’t ask someone to recall all of their autobiographical memories, so we have to take a sample.
Damage to the visual cortex does what to prior autobiographical memoires? What does this indicate about the importance of vision in autobiographical memoires?
Retrospective loss of autobiographical memories (and visual agnosia).
Vision is key to remembering past autobiographical memoires.
Describe the "Cognitive" Hypothesis for explaining why the Reminiscent Bump happens.
States that periods of rapid change that are followed by stability cause stronger encoding/consolidation.
What are some collective flashbulb memories that many people share, and which one inspired the studying of flashbulb memories?
JFK's assassination (inspired investigation into flashbulb memories)
The Challenger Explosion
9/11
Describe the Narrative Rehearsal Hypothesis and how it relates to the reconstructive nature of memory.
The idea we remember some life events better than others because we rehearse them (like flashbulb memories).
However, repeated rehearsal also increases the opportunities for memories to change.