Reconstructed memories
Writing Assignment Thesis & Citations
What can we learn from our reconstructed memories?
In class we learned that our memories are mostly influenced by present events rather than past events. In this sense, we learned that reconstructive memories are more the result of putting together fragmented pieces of memories. The process of putting these fragments together is guided by our present, but what influences the retention of the fragments themselves (or the smallest “units” of memory imaginable)? In this paper I will look into some possible answers to this question and what we can learn from the way in which we capture these fragments, specifically, the role of emotions in prioritizing memory retention.
Citations:
-Doss, M. K., Picart, J. K., & Gallo, D. A. (2020). Creating emotional false recollections: Perceptual recombination and conceptual fluency mechanisms. Emotion, 20(5), 750–760. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.1037/emo0000590.supp (Supplemental)
This first experiment focuses on two hypothetical mechanisms of episodic memory reconstruction proposed by Doss, Bluestone,& Gallo in 2016. These mechanisms are: Perceptual recombination (which is driven by perceptual imagery), and conceptual fluency (which is driven by mental imagery that arises from verbal cues). The experimenters hypothesize that the level at which these mechanisms create false memories is strongly influenced by the emotional response that arises when the memories are being created. Researchers found that although perceptual recombination created false memories at the same rate across different emotions (negative, neutral, or positive) conceptual fluency mechanisms seem to be affected by eliciting different emotional responses at the time of creating conceptual memories. False memories were created at a lower rate when participants were elicited positive and negative emotions compared to neutral emotions when using conceptual fluency as the memory mechanism.
-Talmi, D., Lohnas, L. J., &Daw, N. D. (2019). A retrieved context model of the emotional modulation of memory. Psychological Review, 126(4), 455–485. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.1037/rev0000132
This paper explores the idea that emotional reactions enhance episodic memory. Specifically, the researchers apply the Context Maintenance and Retrieval Model (eCMR) to account for the results of the experiments they discuss in this paper.Lohnas&Daw say that “empirically, current theories of emotional memory fail to predict when enhancement would be exhibited and when it would not.”They explain that what makes the eCMR model different is its focus on context to account for the retrieval of items, rather that just accounting for item retrieval in isolation.
-Swain, T. L., & Takarangi, M. K. (2020). Preliminary evidence for a relationship between prospective memory and PTSD symptoms in the general population. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 102325. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102325
In this study, the researchers focus on the extent to which Post Traumatic Stress Disordersymptoms impair prospective memory (remembering to perform a planned action or intention in the future). PTSD is a mental health condition triggered by a severe emotional reaction to a terrifying event that results in flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, as well as a similar severe emotional reaction triggered by situations that parallel the events that caused the PTSD. It is important to note that researchers include participants with symptoms ranging from mild to severe to allow for a broader spectrum of emotional reaction to be assessed.
