The Function of Autobiographical Memory Essay Example

The Function of Autobiographical Memory Essay AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY Outlines: 1. Definition, characteristics and function of autobiographical memory 2. Methods of studying autobiographical memory 3. Levels of autobiographical memory 4. Conway’s theory 5. Autobiographical memory as life narrative 6. Autobiographical memory over time (infantile amnesia; reminiscence bump) Definition of Autobiographical Memories †¢ Memories of ourselves and our relationships †¢ Episodic and semantic †¢ Unique †¢ One’s life narrative †¢ Interpretive knowledge Characteristics of Autobiographical Memories Constructive integrative †¢ General and specific information †¢ General before specific information †¢ Retrieval rate †¢ More complex The Function of Autobiographical Memories Hyman and Faries (1992) Bluck et al. ’s (2005) TALE questionnaire Williams, Conway, and Cohen (2008) proposed four functions of AM: – Directive – Social – Self-representational – H elping to cope with adversity Studying Autobiographical Memories †¢ Difficult to study †¢ Many studies of autobiographical memory make tenuous assumptions †¦ †¢ Methods of study: †¢ Classic diary method Diary method with random sampling †¢ Memory probe method Structure of Autobiographical Memory Levels of Autobiographical Memory: †¢ Event-specific knowledge †¢ General events †¢ Lifetime periods Levels of Autobiographical Memory 1. Event specific memories †¢ Most closely aligned with episodic memory †¢ Individual experiences †¢ Perceptual and contextual detail †¢ Most lost 2. General events †¢ Two types – Sequence of events – Repeated events of a kind – Cover general time period †¢ Require integrative and interpretive processing 3. Lifetime periods †¢ Several general events Common theme †¢ Provide structure †¢ Goals or preferences Support for Hierarchy †¢ Heuristic †¢ Support for different life-time periods: case studies †¢ Semantic and episodic aspects of autobiographical memories are dissociable: – Retrograde amnesia can affect memory for both personal and public events, or either one, separately Conway’s (2005) Theory The Autobiographical Knowledge Base A hierarchical structure involving an overall life story Conway’s Theory †¢ Experienced self (the â€Å"me†) †¢ Autobiographical knowledge base We will write a custom essay sample on The Function of Autobiographical Memory specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Function of Autobiographical Memory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Function of Autobiographical Memory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer †¢ Working self Autonoetic consciousness (Tulving, 1989) Autobiographical Memory as Life Narrative The Life Narrative: †¢ A coherent account of who we are and how we got here that is built up through life †¢ Events that influence the narrative are ranked as important, emotionally intense, and are typically well encoded †¢ Positive events from young adulthood are especially memorable †¢ Differences in perspective on experience †¢ Field memories (own perspective) †¢ Newer memories †¢ More emotional †¢ Less self-awareness †¢ Observer memories (other’s perspective) Older memories †¢ Less emotional †¢ More self-awareness PTSD research Autobiographical Memory over Time †¢ People of all ages tend to recall numerous memories from the very recent past – Due to the recency effect †¢ Infantile amnesia †¢ Reminiscence bump Infantile Amnesia: Why does this occur? ? Psychodynamic (Freudian) ? Neurological/Biol ogical ? Schema organization view ? Language development view ? Development of the self †¢ Nelson Fivush: Multicomponent Development Why is there a reminiscence bump? †¢ Cognitive †¢ Neural substrates †¢ Identity formation

Memo Choice Essay Sample

Memo Choice Essay SampleAs part of my MBA in Executive MBA Student Project, we were given a chance to choose an essay sample, which we would be given to use in our own assignment. This was the first time I had read this book and read through the essay samples in the book.The students who chose the essay, were given an easy to use set of sample essays. Since it was only a student project, there was no price tag placed on these essays, just that they were free to use. It was explained to us in class that there was a certain amount of work that would need to be done for each essay before they could even be used in a real assignment.Each essay was assigned a certain components. They were graded on how well they covered each section of the essay. The student who got the highest grade on all of their essays, would be given an A grade.Choosing one essay sample that stood out for you, is totally up to you. What about one that you feel you could write better than another? Another thing you ca n do is pick two or three essays from the sample to use.I actually thought the sample essays were more difficult to write than the original essay. Since it was a fairly short essay that we could all use and not worry about how we did, we decided to try it out. Some of us did not get as high of a grade as others, but we all learned something new.The cost of the memo choice essay sample was fairly inexpensive. This is a good thing for people who want to write their own memo in order to have an essay that is extremely cheap and very easy to use. This is also a good way to get some college credit, if needed.Personally, I found this book very informative and made me want to learn a lot more about what I already knew. If I was going to write my own essay, I would choose one that had the same topic or one that I already know a lot about.Overall, I was very impressed with the memo choice essay sample that I chose. As far as a quick and easy homework assignment, I found that I was able to wo rk on it within my class time.