Lecture 7

• What is the primary focus of traditional memory research?

  Recent events or lists
• Why is motivation in everyday memory research often not about accuracy?

  To entertain or impress others
• What is the saying-is-believing effect in everyday memory research?

  Remembering what we said previously even if inaccurate
• What is the main difference between traditional and everyday memory research?

  Social context is considered in everyday memory
• What are autobiographical memories (AM)?

  Memories for events of personal significance
• How can autobiographical memories be dissociated from episodic memories?

  Some people have exceptional AM but ordinary episodic memories
• What is the role of semantic memory in autobiographical memories?

  Involves general knowledge about oneself
• Why do autobiographical memories tend to favor positive memories?

  To improve mood and maintain a positive self-view
• What is Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)?

  Extraordinary ability to recall autobiographical events

  
• What is the possible hypothesis for why HSAMs have superior autobiographical memory?

  Habitual recall and reflection on autobiographical material

  
• What are the four functions of autobiographical memory according to Bluck and Alea (2009)?

  Self, social, directive, self-enhancement
• What is the self-function of autobiographical memory?

  Retain a sense of continuity and project to the future
• What is the Thinking About Life Experiences (TALE) scale used for?

  To measure the functions of autobiographical memory
• What is the social function of autobiographical memory?

  Create, maintain, and enhance social relationships
• What are flashbulb memories?

  Vivid and detailed memories of dramatic events
• Why are flashbulb memories typically not special?

  Subject to ordinary forgetting and distortion
• What is infantile amnesia?

  Few autobiographical memories before age three
• What is the reminiscence bump?

  Many memories reported between ages 10 and 30
• What is the two-stage theory of infantile amnesia?

  Absolute amnesia and relative amnesia
• What is the role of hippocampal neurogenesis in infantile amnesia?

  Disrupts earlier memories by generating new neurons
• What are the three levels of specificity in the autobiographical memory knowledge base?

  Lifetime periods, general events, event-specific knowledge
• What is the working self in the self-memory system model?

  Self and what it may become, including goals
• What are the two types of autobiographical memory retrieval?

  Generative retrieval and direct retrieval
• What is the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in autobiographical memory?

  Linked to autobiographical retrieval

  
• What is the effect of depression on autobiographical memory?

  Produces over-general negative memories

  
• How do interventions to reduce cognitive biases affect depression?

  Lead to lower levels of depression
• What percentage of jurors find eyewitness testimony convincing?

  78%
• Why might jurors find eyewitness testimony more convincing than fingerprints?

  They do not understand memory limitations
• What is the weapon focus effect in eyewitness testimony?

  Focus on the weapon reduces memory for other details
• What is the police view on eyewitness performance according to Kebbell & Milne (1998)?

  Police officers have perceptions of eyewitness performance
• What are the main differences between traditional and everyday memory research?

  • Traditional: Recent events, intentional memory, no social context
  • Everyday: Remote events, incidental learning, social factors relevant
• What are the functions of autobiographical memory according to Bluck and Alea (2009)?

  • Self-function: Continuity, change, future projection
  • Social function: Create, maintain, enhance relationships
  • Directive function: Guide decisions, find solutions
  • Self-enhancement: Remember positive memories
• What are the stages of generative retrieval in autobiographical memory?

  1. Search and access: Ventral frontal to temporal-parietal network
  2. Elaborative processing: Occipital-parietal and dorsal fronto-parietal regions
• What are the cognitive biases related to autobiographical memory in depressed individuals?

  • Over-general negative memories
  • Poorly integrated sense of self
  • Bidirectional influences between depression and memory biases

  
• What are the main points of the self-memory system model by Conway & Pleydell-Pearce (2000)?

  • Autobiographical memory knowledge base: Lifetime periods, general events, event-specific knowledge
  • Working self: Self and goals
  • Retrieval: Generative and direct
• What are the main findings of Risinger (2007) on eyewitness testimony?

  • Estimated 3-5% innocent people condemned to death
  • Eyewitness testimony more convincing than fingerprints for jurors
• What are the main issues with jurors' understanding of eyewitness testimony?

  • Do not understand memory limitations
  • Confuse confidence with accuracy
  • Not aware of own race bias
• What are the main points of Kebbell & Milne (1998) on police perceptions of eyewitnesses?

  • Police officers have perceptions of eyewitness performance
  • Collected data on eyewitness and performance perceptions
• What is eyewitness testimony?

  Account of an event by a third party
• According to Schmechel et al. (2006), what do jurors not understand about memory?

  Interference and reconstruction