1. Autobiographical Memory
Psychology 3717

2. Introduction Really here we are talking about episodic memory
So, while there will be some references to semantic memory, most of the stuff will be, by definition, episodic
That said, we cannot ignore the semantic aspects of autobiographical memory

3. Problems
Unlike say lists of words, autobiographical memory is hard to study
All self reports
Hard to check on the reliability of the responses
The diary approach and the cue word approach may be useful, but have their limitations

4. Linton (1986) Recorded events Dated them Recalled a sample
Forgot about 5 percent per year
Wagenaar (1986) used a similar procedure though recorded only one event per day, who, what , when, where

6. Wagenaar Power function Cues 5 per day Best recall for happy events
Still, using yourself as your own subject may not be the best approach

7. Cue word method Give a list of words
Have subject associate the words with autobiographical events
Then give cues
Reminiscence bump

8. Reminiscence Bump Why? Memories are happier?
Encoding processes are better?
Could be due to school and age combining here
Big events?
Dunno….

9. Please just listen Pin Inoculation Haystack Sharp Pointy Knitting
phonograph

10. Autobiographical memory as narrative
Narrative means you know, like a story…
So when you tell a story, recall some event, what do you get right?
Surprisingly little!
You get the gist
But specific stuff, not so good

11. Unleash the controversy!
Repressed memories
Freudian idea (booooooooooooo)
Of course there is child abuse
Most people remember abuse
Most will not tell because of embarrassment or threats
Implanting false memories is VERY easy

12. Can we tell the difference?
And there is the problem
It is very difficult to tell the difference, though some PET studies are promising
If you are to convict someone of something, you need evidence
Memories are just one form of evidence
Our memories are at best reconstructive

13. Raise you hand if you heard this word earlier
Pin
Book
Chair
Ceiling
Sharp
Pointy
Haystack
Needle

14. Flashbulb Memories Seem to be hyper accurate Seem to be super detailed
Almost always about shared cultural experiences
But they are NOT as accurate as they seem

15. 9/11 Do we all remember where we were?
Les Cake at SWGC of MUN decided to test this
Had his 2nd year cognition course fill out a questionnaire
37% recall after 3 years

16. Conclusions about episodic memory
Autobiographical memory is usually episodic
Such memories tend to be best guesses
The guesses are USUALLY good guesses
Your memory is reconstructive