Autobiographical Memories & Flashbulb Memories Psychology 355: Cognitive Psychology Instructor: John Miyamoto 5/11 /2015: Lecture 07-1 This Powerpoint presentation may contain macros that were used to create the slides. The macros aren’t needed to view the slides. If necessary, you can disable the macros without any change to the presentation.

Outline Autobiographical memories ♦ What are they? (I.e., what does this terminology mean?) ♦ Are they different from other memories? Memory over the lifespan – the reminiscence bump Flashbulb memories ♦ How do they change over time? ♦ Do they involve mechanisms that differ from memory for less dramatic events? Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 2 Autobiographical Memory

Autobiographical Memory (AM) Autobiographical memories are memories of one's personal experiences and history. Many autobiographical memories include episodic memories. ♦ E.g., I remember listening to a lecture on statistical theory last week, i.e., I remember where I was sitting in the room, who was around me, etc. Many autobiographical memories include semantic memories. ♦ E.g., I remember the name of my elementary school, but the name isn’t connected to a particular experience. Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '14 3 AM & Mental Imagery

AM’s often include memories of visual, auditory, olfactory or haptic aspects of the memory. ♦ Memory of a place might include a visual memory. ♦ Memory of food might include visual or olfactory aspects. Greenberg and Rubin (2003) ♦ Patients who cannot recognize objects also experience loss of autobiographical memory ♦ Visual experience plays a role in forming and retrieving AM Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 4 Do AM’s Involve Distinct Patterns of Brain Activity?

Subjects (Duke undergrads) took photos of campus landmarks. Later subjects viewed photos during fMRI scan. OWN Photos: Photos taken by the subject. LAB Photos: Photos taken by someone else, not by the subject. Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 5 Figure 8.1 Goldstein, p. 209, based on Cabeza, Prince, Daselaar, Greenberg, Budde, Dalcos, et. al. (2004). fMRI Results for OWN and LAB Photos (text description)

fMRI Results for OWN Photos & LAB Photos Both types of photos activated similar brain structures ♦ Medial temporal lobe (MTL) (typical of episodic memory) ♦ Parietal cortex (typical of scene processing) OWN-photos activated more of the ♦ Prefrontal cortex (PFC) (information about self) ♦ Hippocampus (recollection) Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 6 These interpretations involve theory (intelligent guesswork). fMRI Results for OWN and LAB Photos (fMRI Images)

fMRI Images that Support Interpretation on Preceding Slide Figure 8.2. fMRI response (a) in parietal cortex; (b) in prefrontal cortex (PFC); (c) in hippocampus. Yellow lines: Response to OWN photos Blue lines: Response to LAB photos OWN photos produce stronger response than LAB photos in PFC & hippocampus. Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 7 (c) Hippocampus (a) Parietal cortex (b) Prefrontal cortex (PFC) Memory Over the Lifespan

What events are remembered well? ♦ Significant events in a person’s life ♦ Highly emotional events ♦ Transition points (periods of rapid change in personal situation) Reminiscence Bump

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr ‘15 9 Reminiscence Bump If a person over 40 years old is interviewed, typically most memories pertain to the recent past or to the period between 10 & 30 years of age. The increase in memories for 10 – 30 years of age is called the reminiscence bump. Comparison Between Two Curves that Represent the Reminiscence Bump

. Reminiscence Bump Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 10 Goldstein Figure 8.3: Percentage of memories from different ages, recalled by a 55-year-old, showing the reminiscence bump. Based on Schrauf & Rubin (1998) The figure on the right is from: Anderson, S. J., & Conway, M. A. (1997). Representation of autobiographical memories. In M. A. Conway (ed.), Cognitive models of memory, Types of Memories that Make Up the Reminiscence Bump

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 11 Types of Memories in the Reminiscence Bump Rubin, Rahhal, & Poon (1998) find better memories during ages 10 – 30 for: episodic memories autobiographical facts, e.g., personal preferences at the time memories for public events memories for songs and music memory for general knowledge learned at that time, e.g., Academy Awards or World Series results, other current events Why Is There a Reminiscence Bump?

Self-image hypothesis: Memory is strongest for events associated with personal identity formation. Cognitive hypothesis: Encoding is better during periods of rapid change that are followed by stability. Cultural life script hypothesis: There is a script for a typical life in a given culture. Memory is strongest for important events in this life script, e.g., graduation, getting a job, marriage,.... (often in the 10 – 30 period). Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 12 Figure 8.4. Frequency of memories over the lifespan. Red line – standard result. Blue dotted line – Hispanics who emigrated to U.S. at age 34 – 35. Brief Comment re Childhood Amnesia

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 13 Childhood Amnesia Childhood amnesia ♦ Relatively few memories before the age of 10 ♦ Especially few before the age of 2 or 3 What causes childhood amnesia? ♦ Hypothesis: Immature brain, especially hippocampus & prefrontal cortex. ♦ Hypothesis: Immature language ♦ Hypothesis: Immature self-concept Summary re Memory over the Lifespan

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 14 Summary: Life Span Autobiographical Memory Three main periods Childhood Amnesia: Why does childhood amnesia occur? Remiscence Bump: Why is there a reminiscence bump? Normal forgetting in later life. Forgetting happens (no kidding!) Outline – Flashbulb Memory Topic

Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '15 15 Flashbulb Memories (FBM's) Hypothesis: Memory for a dramatic or shocking event is preserved as if a photographic image was made by using a flashbulb with a camera. ♦ Do you remember where were you and what were you doing when you first heard about the attack on the World Trade Center? ♦ Do you have memories of a major accident, e.g., a car accident? QUESTIONS: Do flashbulb memories differ in strength from regular memories? How do they change over time? Do flashbulb memories involve different memory mechanisms from those that create or maintain ordinary memories? What Creates Autobiographical Memories that Lasts a Long Time?