Episodic memories are memories that are created from a personal experience of an event. These memories are considered episodic because they are stored temporally, allowing for one to mentally travel back in time to recall the moment these memories occurred. Episodic memories are easier to recall because of the personal experience that occurs, and they are recalled based on time of occurrence. In example, an episodic memory that I have is when I birthed my child in August of 2020. I recall this memory as I watch my son grow over time and I count the years as he grows with them. The memory of birthing my son was a very personal experience that I will never forget, and I feel as though it has just happened every single day. Another episodic memory that I have regarding my son is his first birthday that recently happened here in August of this year. I remember rushing around to make sure everything was perfect for his big day, and I remember how happy he was to be with so many people he knows and loves.
Semantic memories are memories of something that you have learned rather than something you have experienced. These memories can be learned in high school, college, and even just every day in the natural world. Semantic memories can range from facts about history to even mathematical equations and they are recalled using organizational mechanics in your brain. Regarding a semantic memory that I have regarding watching my son grow up throughout time, I think of when he began to eat solids around six months old and how I had to learn how to create foods for him based on how best to go about feeding him in a healthy way. I had to read many books and speak to many different people to learn the best recipes. Another semantic memory that I am currently working on is potty training my son, as I must learn different methods and facts that will help me potty train him.
Episodic and semantic memories can often go hand in hand with episodic memories being something that you experience at one point in time, and Semantic memories being something you learn. Each semantic memory was once an episodic memory because at one point you experienced learning that sematic memory, and that experience was episodic. In example of this, when I learned how to make food for my son I was experiencing that, so that experience was episodic at the point of learning but is now semantic as it was something I learned. Every day our episodic and semantic memories play a large role in our lives.
Hello! Your post was an interesting read, as I also have a one-year-old who was born July 2020! I love how you integrated parenting with our content learned in class. You described your process of gaining semantic knowledge when it comes to learning new techniques and methods in relation to raising your son. I think that’s a huge part of parenting in general as well! We’re constantly looking for new information to better the lives of our kids, always picking up new facts.
Consider this as well, our kids are also making semantic memories. For example, kids at that age are beginning to learn the names of things and starting to form a word or a few. These are facts that they’re gaining which will later help them navigate the world. They’ll be able to identify objects, such as their milk, toys, or anything they see daily. From our perspective we already know how to do these things so watching our kids learn is precious and creates episodic memories for us. On the other hand, this is the first round for our kids so it’s all new and becoming factual for them.
I really enjoyed reading your post. Episodic memories are in the hippocampus of the brain. Episodic memories are memories stored in your brain that mean a lot to someone. (Hippocampus, Where Are Memories Stored in The Brain.) The birth of your son and you raising him means so much to you and explains why you remember it in crystal clear detail. Your son means a lot to you and that is great that you made sure he had a fantastic first birthday. Also, everyone has a different perspective and sense of what happened so that event to someone for the episodic memory is special. (Episodic Memories and Your Experiences.) The people that went to your son’s birthday enjoyed the party but remember it differently because of their perspective of episodic memory. It is also about a person’s history and long-term memory. (Episodic Memory and Your Experiences.) Your son being born in August of 2021 and throwing him a birthday party in 2021 are your and your son’s significant episodic memories. Semantic memory is about what you have learned as well as facts and ideas. (Episodic Memory and Semantic Memory.) Some examples of semantic memory are grammar and algebra. (Semantic Memory.) Learning to feed your son’s food and obtaining information about it are also examples of semantic memory. I think they can interconnect as may be you learned something that you are interested and remember the day you learned it on that would be episodic and semantic memory combined. I think episodic and semantic memory is important as well.
Cite sources: Where are memories stored in the brain? Queensland Brain Institute. (2018, July 23). Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-basics/memory/where-are-memories-stored#:~:text=The%20hippocampus%2C%20located%20in%20the,How%20do%20we%20know%20this%3F.
Cherry, K. (2020, March 6). How episodic memory helps you remember events. Verywell Mind. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-episodic-memory-2795173.
Perera, A. (2020, December 15). Semantic memory. Semantic Memory | Simply Psychology. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/semantic-memory.html.
Great post! I enjoyed reading about how you connect your learned parenting knowledge to semantic memory and your experiences to episodic memory. Autobiographical memory, as you describe, includes semantic and episodic factors. When we are in periods of transition, our memory is likely to be enhanced (Goldstein, 2015). This explains why we might remember giving birth or learning tasks as a new parent. Additionally, flashbulb memories may provide an explanation for our vivid memories of giving birth despite the potential inaccuracy of those memories (Goldstein, 2015).
I find it interesting that after time passes, our episodic memories can fade to only semantic memories. My oldest child is almost twelve, but I remember our hospital stay after giving birth like it was yesterday – or so I thought! During our stay, I needed instruction about how to provide supplemental formula to my son with a measured syringe. I do not actually remember the instructional experience anymore, but I still remember the procedure and why it was necessary. When did my episodic memories of this event fade to semantic memories only? Oddly enough, my husband still remembers the experience even though he wasn’t an active participant!
References
Goldstein, E. B. (2015). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience. Cengage Learning.