If you have ever walked into your kitchen, stopped, and then asked yourself, "What did I come in here for?" You are not alone. Many of us struggle to remember things that we just thought about, but can remember when we had our first kiss. Why does our brain allow us to remember some things while others are more difficult? Let's dig in to investigate...
How do memories form? Listen to this TED Talk and it's simplistic explanation.
Memory and Language -
How does language connect to memory? According to the article, Culture & Memory (Wang & Ross, 2007), there is not a direct correlation between language and memory; however, there is a correlation between language and autobiographical memory. "Early parent-child memory sharing appears to be critical to the emergence and development of autobiographical memory" (Wang & Ross, 2007). This statement then leads us to the idea that children don't need language to develop their memory. Wang (2007) says that even dogs and babies can remember faces and objects. Conversely, language seems to play a key role in how memories are communicated, what they have remember, and what the memories mean. One study in the article, mentions that although children can have "verbal and non-verbal" memories, if the child had a memory before they could talk, the child wouldn't be able to articulate the memory, even if they had now learned to speak. Therefore, since the memory happened before speech was developed, the memory can't be communicated. Studies further show, that when children learn second language, since cultural values and practices are tied to the language, memories are stronger when described in the home language and with "pre-existing language-specific cognitive schemas." I conclude from this information that language is a key factor in our memory recall; when language is delayed, it can also affect how we understand, communicate, and recollect memories.
Cultural Effects on Memory -
Differing cultures can affect many areas of development, but who would have thought it could also affect memories? In the article, Culture & Memory (Wang & Ross, 2007) details of a study of young children noted differences in the specificity of memory. The study concluded that children of Westerners were more likely to talk about one specific event about themselves, which ties in to the Individualism values system of Westerners, where preservation of self is highlighted. On the other hand, Asian children talked about a "collection of experiences." This conclusion also fits with the Collectivist value system, where the views and feelings of the group are more important. The study also looked at the memory content across cultures. Western children were taught to give very detailed, elaborate memories. They were often able to recall their feelings, their role, and values. Asian children overall gave very little in terms of the content of their memories. Their focus was on how others were affected, "social interactions, and a show of concerns for moral correctness..." These outcomes connect well with the core values of Individualism and Collectivism. Studies showed that parents taught children how to access and talk about memories in culturally acceptable ways. The study also demonstrated that as children developed over the years, the way they communicated about memories remained much the same as when they were small children. Highly fascinating!!
Autobiographical Memory -
Autobiographical memory is memories that are personal. The web article, Autobiographical Memory highlights that these memories have taken place over a person's lifetime. They may be memories that are single events, recurring, or a series of events. There are two types of Autobiographical memories, (1) episodic, and (2) semantic. Episodic memories are memories that occurred at a specific place and time. Semantic memories are memories that happened several times in your past over a period of time. Both types of memories may include imagery, smell, and emotion memories. In my own background, I think that because I was raised in a both Collectivist and Individualism value system, I have some memories that are very specific about myself and then other memories I have are in more vivid images of what happened to family or friends. Thinking back, my earliest memory is in preschool. I can remember that we (class), raised chickens from eggs in an incubator to full grown chickens. I can even remember that each child in the classroom was given a job to help take care of the chickens. I think that the conversations that my mom and I have had and the accompanying pictures, have really helped solidify the memory and add more detailed information about the series of memories. Having been raised with both sets of values, I can remember what I was doing and also memories about what my peers were doing and even saying. This makes me think that my cultural background has had a lot to do with what and how I remember my past.
REFERENCES
Autobiographical Memory - https://exploringyourmind.com/autobiographical-memory/ September 2, 2020
Wang, Q., & Ross, M. (2007). Culture and memory. In S. Kitayama & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of cultural psychology (p. 645–667). The Guilford Press.
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