PSY 211 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Reminiscence Bump, Autobiographical Memory, Cognitive Interview
Document Summary
8. 1 autobiographical memory: what has happened in my life. Memory for specific experiences from our life, which can include both episodic and semantic components. We remember some events in our lives better than others. Memories extend beyond vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. They also have spatial componenets, because events usually take place in a three-dimensional environment. Memories often involve thought and emotions, both positive and negative. Importance of individual components is illustrated by the finding that patients who have lost their ability to recognize or visualize objects, because of damage to the visual area of their cortex, can experience a loss of autobiographical memory. This may have occurred because visual stimuli were not available to serve as retrieval cues for memories. Visual experience plays an important role in autobiographical memory. Activation reflects the richness of experiencing autobiographical memories. Autobiographical memories can elicit emotions, which activates another area of the brain called the amygdala.
