Personal-event memory

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A personal-event memory is an individual's memory of an event from a certain moment of time. Its defining characteristics are that it is for a specific event; includes vivid multi-sensory elements (sights, sounds, smells, body positions, etc.); is usually recalled in detail; and is usually believed by the individual to be an accurate representation of the event. [1]

Contents

Relation to other types of memory

Episodic memory and personal-event memories both are recollections of an event in one's life. A personal-event memory is a more specific type of episodic memory in that there is more detail and sensory qualities to a personal-event memory. Flashbulb Memories [2] are memories for emotionally and personally significant events that are vivid and long lasting.

Both flashbulb memory and personal-event memory contain highly vivid details and sensory qualities for a specific moment in time. They both also have a belief in accuracy of the event remembered. When it comes to flashbulb memories, the most aspect that solidifies the formation is the personal attachment and context to the news or event, and the subjective elements rather than the event. For example, 9/11 is a common flashbulb memory due to the fact that it had subjective environmental, personal, and historical context to each individual old enough to remember the event. This study [3] conducted research that found a steady decrease in the accuracy and number of details remembered from a flashbulb memory after several months following the event. [3] Although this study found a decrease in recalled accuracy and number of from flashbulb memories, there is a similar study that explains that these memories are more resistant to fading than memories of other personal events at the time that the flashbulb memory was retained. [4] This contradictory data indicates how information about these types of memories are ripe with debate and require more research.

Common examples of flashbulb memories are typically derived from negative and traumatizing events. However, a study [2] was conducted that focused on the formation of positive flashbulb memories for personal events and aimed to compare and contrast negative and positive events. This study found that receiving an invitation to join a prestigious university-wide social organization (the studied positive event) did, in fact, form a flashbulb memory. Additionally, the ratings of confidence, belief in accuracy, and knowledge of setting were unexpectedly well above average memory formation, and these positive flashbulb memories were rated above the negative flashbulb memories. Another example of contradictory data, is that this study indicated that the positive event memories were more stable and consistent over time.

Neurological components

Studies have shown that activity in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures: [5] perirhinal cortex, parahippocampal cortex and the hippocampus are vital to the recollection of personal-event memories [6] along with other memories. the medial temporal lobe structures, parietal and frontal lobes of the brain, all contribute to forming and retrieving memories. The MTL structures are the primary components for creating long-term memories via words, spatial information, and recognition.

The amygdala also has been linked to personal-event memory storage and retrieval. Laboratory studies have demonstrated more activity in the amygdala and hippocampus for recollection of emotional memories. The emotional component of these memories seems to play an important role in their ease of retrieval. [7]

Other studies demonstrate that Atrophy of the hippocampus due to aging in humans has been shown to decrease recollection of personal events. [8]

9/11 study

A study examined the memory of a group of Canadian students for the events of September 11, 2001 that took place in the United States. Pezdek hypothesized that whereas event memory would be better than autobiographical memory for a group that was personally involved with the event (i.e. people in New York where the attacks occurred), the reverse would be true for a group that was less involved, such as the Canadian sample. They found that memory for event information was less consistent than memory for autobiographical information. They also found that subjects recalled more information about the personal circumstances and feelings surrounding the event than they did about the actual event. Furthermore, they found that the personal-event memory was significantly more accurate and more consistent in the participants who had experienced high arousal on hearing the news than in those who had experiences relatively little arousal. This better recall of the events of 9/11 for those who had experienced greater arousal supports Pezdek's hypotheses that personal-event memory improves with higher levels of experienced emotion. Finally, they found that event memory is positively correlated with level of emotional arousal and shows significant decline with time. [9]

Another 9/11 study [10] assessed the consistency of personal recollections of 9/10, 9/11, and 9/12 to collect more information on personal-event and flashbulb memories. The reported data suggested that 9/10 presented as a normal day, not affected by the traumatic event of 9/11, while 9/11 and 9/12 both had nearly 100% recollection (who, what, where) questionnaire scores compared to 9/10, whose scores were in the 70% range. 9/12 had the same recollection scores as 9/11 due to the fallout of the trauma being as impactful as the event itself. For example, related events that occurred in response to the attack, such as disrupted routines and schedules, police and military presence, etc. [10]

Event clusters

The study indicates that memorable personal events, regardless of age or importance, are often embedded in event clusters and that events organized by these clusters, like episodes in a story, are often causally related, temporally proximate, and similar in content. [11] It can also be argued that the clusters are created when people plan, execute, and evaluate meaningful action sequences and that [12] or narration serves to maintain or strengthen associations between clustered events.

Reminiscence bump

Researchers have found that there seems to be a "reminiscence bump" [13] [14] where adults recall more memories from their adolescence and early adulthood years (ages 10-30). It is one of the most observed and researched phenomena in the memory research field. This "bump" states that memories of first-time or novel events during this specific time period are more easily recalled later in life compared to memories formed before or after the reminiscence bump. [15] In other words, memories of a first time personal experience stand out better in the mind than memories of repetition or routine.

There are multiple hypotheses [14] regarding the high occurrence of memory recall during adolescence and early adulthood: self-image hypothesis, cognitive hypothesis, self-narrative, and cultural life script hypothesis. The self-image hypothesis suggests that memory is heightened for events that happen while a young person is forming a self-image or identity. [16] The cognitive hypothesis proposes that memory encoding is better during the rapid and distinct changes that occur during adolescence and early adulthood, [17] like getting your driver's license or having your first kiss. The self-narrative hypotheses is similar to the self-image hypothesis, but it states that self-identity is conceptualized as a narrative about "the self". The final explanation, cultural life script hypothesis, hypothesizes that transitional life events occur more frequently during this time period, compared to others. Thus, people recall the memories more easily because big life changes, like college or marriage, happen during this time. [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

A flashbulb memory is a vivid, long-lasting memory about a surprising or shocking event that has happened in the past.

Episodic memory is the memory of everyday events that can be explicitly stated or conjured. It is the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at particular times and places; for example, the party on one's 7th birthday. Along with semantic memory, it comprises the category of explicit memory, one of the two major divisions of long-term memory.

In neurology, retrograde amnesia (RA) is the inability to access memories or information from before an injury or disease occurred. RA differs from a similar condition called anterograde amnesia (AA), which is the inability to form new memories following injury or disease onset. Although an individual can have both RA and AA at the same time, RA can also occur on its own; this 'pure' form of RA can be further divided into three types: focal, isolated, and pure RA. RA negatively affects an individual's episodic, autobiographical, and declarative memory, but they can still form new memories because RA leaves procedural memory intact. Depending on its severity, RA can result in either temporally graded or more permanent memory loss. However, memory loss usually follows Ribot's law, which states that individuals are more likely to lose recent memories than older memories. Diagnosing RA generally requires using an Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI) and observing brain structure through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a computed tomography scan (CT), or electroencephalography (EEG).

Explicit memory is one of the two main types of long-term human memory, the other of which is implicit memory. Explicit memory is the conscious, intentional recollection of factual information, previous experiences, and concepts. This type of memory is dependent upon three processes: acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval. Explicit memory can be divided into two categories: episodic memory, which stores specific personal experiences, and semantic memory, which stores factual information. Explicit memory requires gradual learning, with multiple presentations of a stimulus and response.

A flashback, or involuntary recurrent memory, is a psychological phenomenon in which an individual has a sudden, usually powerful, re-experiencing of a past experience or elements of a past experience. These experiences can be frightful, happy, sad, exciting, or any number of other emotions. The term is used particularly when the memory is recalled involuntarily, especially when it is so intense that the person "relives" the experience, and is unable to fully recognize it as memory of a past experience and not something that is happening in "real time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Involuntary memory</span> Memory of the past that is unconsciously triggered by an environmental cue

Involuntary memory, also known as involuntary explicit memory, involuntary conscious memory, involuntary aware memory, madeleine moment, mind pops and most commonly, involuntary autobiographical memory, is a sub-component of memory that occurs when cues encountered in everyday life evoke recollections of the past without conscious effort. Voluntary memory, its opposite, is characterized by a deliberate effort to recall the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reminiscence bump</span> Memory phenomenon related to human aging

The reminiscence bump is the tendency for older adults to have increased or enhanced recollection for events that occurred during their adolescence and early adulthood. It was identified through the study of autobiographical memory and the subsequent plotting of the age of encoding of memories to form the lifespan retrieval curve.

Transient epileptic amnesia (TEA) is a rare but probably underdiagnosed neurological condition which manifests as relatively brief and generally recurring episodes of amnesia caused by underlying temporal lobe epilepsy. Though descriptions of the condition are based on fewer than 100 cases published in the medical literature, and the largest single study to date included 50 people with TEA, TEA offers considerable theoretical significance as competing theories of human memory attempt to reconcile its implications.

Autobiographical memory (AM) is a memory system consisting of episodes recollected from an individual's life, based on a combination of episodic and semantic memory. It is thus a type of explicit memory.

The neuroanatomy of memory encompasses a wide variety of anatomical structures in the brain.

Emotion can have a powerful effect on humans and animals. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than neutral events.

Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease, but it can also be caused temporarily by the use of various sedatives and hypnotic drugs. The memory can be either wholly or partially lost due to the extent of damage that was caused. There are two main types of amnesia: retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia is the inability to retrieve information that was acquired before a particular date, usually the date of an accident or operation. In some cases the memory loss can extend back decades, while in others the person may lose only a few months of memory. Anterograde amnesia is the inability to transfer new information from the short-term store into the long-term store. People with anterograde amnesia cannot remember things for long periods of time. These two types are not mutually exclusive; both can occur simultaneously.

In psychology, mental time travel is the capacity to mentally reconstruct personal events from the past as well as to imagine possible scenarios in the future. The term was coined by Thomas Suddendorf and Michael Corballis, building on Endel Tulving's work on episodic memory.

In psychology, the misattribution of memory or source misattribution is the misidentification of the origin of a memory by the person making the memory recall. Misattribution is likely to occur when individuals are unable to monitor and control the influence of their attitudes, toward their judgments, at the time of retrieval. Misattribution is divided into three components: cryptomnesia, false memories, and source confusion. It was originally noted as one of Daniel Schacter's seven sins of memory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Childhood memory</span> Early life experiences often memorable for life

Childhood memory refers to memories formed during childhood. Among its other roles, memory functions to guide present behaviour and to predict future outcomes. Memory in childhood is qualitatively and quantitatively different from the memories formed and retrieved in late adolescence and the adult years. Childhood memory research is relatively recent in relation to the study of other types of cognitive processes underpinning behaviour. Understanding the mechanisms by which memories in childhood are encoded and later retrieved has important implications in many areas. Research into childhood memory includes topics such as childhood memory formation and retrieval mechanisms in relation to those in adults, controversies surrounding infantile amnesia and the fact that adults have relatively poor memories of early childhood, the ways in which school environment and family environment influence memory, and the ways in which memory can be improved in childhood to improve overall cognition, performance in school, and well-being, both in childhood and in adulthood.

Childhood amnesia, also called infantile amnesia, is the inability of adults to retrieve episodic memories before the age of two to four years. It may also refer to the scarcity or fragmentation of memories recollected from early childhood, particularly occurring between the ages of 2 and 6. On average, this fragmented period wanes off at around 4.7 years. Around 5-6 years of age in particular is thought to be when autobiographical memory seems to stabilize and be on par with adults. The development of a cognitive self is also thought by some to have an effect on encoding and storing early memories.

In psychology, confabulation is a memory error defined as the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world. It is generally associated with certain types of brain damage or a specific subset of dementias. While still an area of ongoing research, the basal forebrain is implicated in the phenomenon of confabulation. People who confabulate present with incorrect memories ranging from subtle inaccuracies to surreal fabrications, and may include confusion or distortion in the temporal framing of memories. In general, they are very confident about their recollections, even when challenged with contradictory evidence.

The fading affect bias, more commonly known as FAB, is a psychological phenomenon in which memories associated with negative emotions tend to be forgotten more quickly than those associated with positive emotions. It is important to note that FAB only refers to the feelings one has associated with the memories and not the content of the memories themselves. Early research studied FAB retrospectively, or through personal reflection, which brought about some criticism because retrospective analysis can be affected by subjective retrospective biases. However, new research using non-retrospective recall studies have found evidence for FAB., and the phenomenon has become largely accepted.

Martin Anthony Conway was a British psychologist and psychoanalyst focusing on the study of autobiographical memory, as well as the interactions between human memory and the law. He served as head of the psychology department, City, University of London before his passing.

Music-evoked autobiographical memories (MEAMs) refer to the recollection of personal experiences or past events that are triggered when hearing music or some musical stimulus. While there is a degree of inter-individual variation in music listening patterns and evoked responses, MEAMs are generally triggered in response to a wide variety of music, often popular or classical genres, and are estimated to occur in the range from one to a few times per day, regardless of formal instrumental practice or music lessons. Consistent with the hallmarks of general autobiographical memories, everyday MEAMs similarly exhibit a recency effect, a reminiscence bump, and childhood amnesia, encoding autobiographical knowledge at several levels of specificity and across several common social and situational contexts. The phenomenon of MEAMs has been widely studied in the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and musicology. In recent years, the subject has garnered significant interest from researchers and the general public alike due to music's capacity to evoke vivid, emotional, and episodically rich autobiographical memories.

References

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  2. 1 2 Kraha, Amanda; Boals, Adriel (2013-05-24). "Why so negative? Positive flashbulb memories for a personal event". Memory. 22 (4): 442–449. doi:10.1080/09658211.2013.798121. ISSN   0965-8211. PMID   23705992. S2CID   205666246.
  3. 1 2 Talarico, Jennifer; Rubin, David (2003). "Confidence, not consistency, characterizes flashbulb memories". Psychological Science. 14 (5): 455–461. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.02453. hdl: 10161/10118 . PMID   12930476. S2CID   14643427.
  4. ↑ Davidson, Patrick; Cook, Shaun; Glisky, Elizabeth (2002). "Flashbulb memories for September 11th can be preserved in older adults". Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition. 13 (2): 196–206. doi:10.1080/13825580490904192. PMC   2365738 . PMID   16807198.
  5. ↑ Davachi, Lila; Mitchell, J; Wagner, A (2003). "Multiple routes to memory: Distinct medial temporal lobes processes build item and source memories". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 100 (4): 2157–2162. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0337195100 . PMC   149975 . PMID   12578977.
  6. ↑ Squire LR; Schacter DL (2003). Neuropsychology of Memory (3rd ed.). Guilford Press. pp.  6. ISBN   978-1-57230-898-5.
  7. ↑ Dolcos, F.; Labar, K. S.; Cabeza, R. (2005). "Remembering one year later: Role of the amygdala and the medial temporal lobe memory system in retrieving emotional memories". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102 (7): 2626–2631. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0409848102 . PMC   548968 . PMID   15703295.
  8. ↑ Schiltz, K.; Szentkuti, A.; Guderian, S.; Kaufmann, J.; Münte, T. F.; Heinze, H. J.; Düzel, E. (2006). "Relationship between Hippocampal Structure and Memory Function in Elderly Humans" (PDF). Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 18 (6): 990–1003. doi:10.1162/jocn.2006.18.6.990. PMID   16839305. S2CID   8074187.
  9. ↑ Smith, M. C.; Bibi, U.; Sheard, D. E. (2003). "Evidence for the differential impact of time and emotion on personal and event memories for September 11, 2001". Applied Cognitive Psychology. 17 (9): 1047–1055. doi:10.1002/acp.981.
  10. 1 2 PARADIS, CHERYL M. (2004). "FLASHBULB MEMORIES OF PERSONAL EVENTS OF 9/11 AND THE DAY AFTER FOR A SAMPLE OF NEW YORK CITY RESIDENTS". Psychological Reports. 95 (5): 304–310. doi:10.2466/pr0.95.5.304-310. ISSN   0033-2941. PMID   15460385.
  11. ↑ Brown, N. R.; Schopflocher, D. (1998). "Event Clusters: An Organization of Personal Events in Autobiographical Memory". Psychological Science. 9 (6): 470–475. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.409.2654 . doi:10.1111/1467-9280.00087. S2CID   17532583.
  12. ↑ Memory rehearsal#Elaborative Rehearsal
  13. 1 2 Berntsen, Dorthe; Rubin, David (2004). "Cultural life scripts structure recall from autobiographical memory" (PDF). Memory & Cognition. 32 (3): 427–442. doi: 10.3758/bf03195836 . PMID   15285126. S2CID   2120446.
  14. 1 2 3 Janssen, Steve M.J.; Kristo, Gert; Rouw, Romke; Murre, Jaap M.J. (2015). "The relation between verbal and visuospatial memory and autobiographical memory". Consciousness and Cognition. 31: 12–23. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2014.10.001. ISSN   1053-8100. PMID   25460237. S2CID   11224540.
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