Memory

As we learned in class it is uncommon and almost nearly impossible to remember things that happened to you before the age of three unless you experienced a traumatic event. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as childhood amnesia or infantile amnesia.  Childhood amnesia is the inability of adults to retrieve episodic memories before the age of 2–4 years. Early memories tend to be implicit and implicit memories are difficult to bring to consciousness. Explicit memory, which are centered on verbal and conscious form of memory do not fully develop until after about age 2, when the hippocampus is more fully developed and language skills are intact.

Research has proven that certain memories from the early childhood years are more accessible than others for adults. I used to assume that not recalling a childhood memory meant that I had forgotten the event but there is a difference between accessibility and. A memory may always be available, but a person might not be able to access the memory for various reasons.1 According to a study by West and Bauer, earlier memories have less emotional content than later memories, and are less personally meaningful, unique, or intense 2 . Earlier memories also do not seem to differ greatly in perspective. For example I can remember in great detail how I celebrated my 10th and 18th birthday, each were very significant parts of my life. For my 10th birthday I can remember where it was, who was there and what it did but I can’t necessarily pinpoint how I felt at various points of that day whereas for my 18th birthday I can remember the events that occurred that day in the same detail but in addition to this I could tell you how I felt at various parts of the day, while I couldn’t tell you exactly how I felt on my 10th.

As professor Wede mentioned in class keeping a journal is useful for accessing memories that in time we won’t be able to remember as well in the future. In hindsight I would have kept a journal when I was younger so if I felt the need I could go back to read it to remember significant moments in my life that I am beginning to forget.

Citations

  1. Jack, Fiona, and Harlene Hayne. “Eliciting Adults’ Earliest Memories: Does It Matter How We Ask the Question?” Memory 15.6 (2007): 647-63. Print.
  2. West, Tiffany A., and Patricia J. Bauer. “Assumptions of Infantile Amnesia: Are There Differences Between Early and Later Memories?” Memory 7.3 (1999): 257-78. Print

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 thoughts on “Memory

  1. Amber Judith Maiden

    I was really interested reading this because even though I believed I could remember things from when I was really young, I guess I had to have been mistaken. Sometimes with memory the things you think you remember are just stories you hear. But I do remember things like my 16th birthday party and how it felt to be dumped by my first boyfriend in great detail. I liked how you had sources for other articles to further someones interest if they wanted to learn more about memories.

  2. Richard James Hayward

    This is very interesting. I cannot even remember what I did for my 10th birthday as you can. Perhaps, like you said, I still have it, but I simply cannot retrieve the memory. As I think of older and older memories, they become harder and harder to recall. But certain “flashbulb memories” still remain. My earliest memory is standing outside my class with my dad the first day of preschool, which occurred when I was about three years old. Before this incident it is difficult to remember practically. This coincides with the theory of infantile amnesia. Thanks for sharing.

  3. aql5264

    This blog was well written despite a minor error in the second sentence of the second paragraph. I really like how you reference to actual studies that were performed. Referring to studies hammered home your points that you made in the blog. Furthermore, adding your own person experiences provided an example to help better understand the points of childhood amnesia and infantile amnesia. This was a good topic to read about and kept me entertained with the examples of studies and personal examples.

Leave a Reply