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Why might they become paranoid in their suspicions
about other people? Now have students think about what it would be like if they had only
long-term memory? Have students consider this latter problem in terms of Alzheimer’s
disease.
2. Have students consider that only half of what they learned could be stored in long-term
memory. What general classes of information would various individuals select? Are there
some basic categories of knowledge that are selected to ensure minimal disruption of
ongoing daily behavior? How did students determine these particular classes of
information?
3. In The Mind of a Mnemonist, Russian psychologist A. R. Luria described the feats of a
newspaper reporter who could recall incredible amounts of information following a brief
and seemingly effortless examination of the to-be-remembered material. The reporter relied
heavily on images, primarily visual, but also cutaneous, olfactory, and gustatory
sensations. He apparently had what we call a photographic or eidetic memory. Would it be
helpful to remember everything?
. Doing well on tests might seem like no problem, because the answers could be looked
up mentally. However, because of the vastness of the information stored, this might
take too much time.
. Material stored eidetically is difficult to break down and reassemble in new patterns.
Essay questions might be difficult because of the necessity to take information from a
number of sources and integrate it.
. Difficulty in combining ideas from various sources would put a severe limitation on
creativity.
. Abstract ideas would be difficult to understand because they often do not lend
themselves to imagining.
. We generally condense and take important information from what we read and hear,
and we associate new information with what we already know. This would be difficult
if we remembered all we see or hear.
4. Consider giving your class a demonstration of the reconstructive qualities of memory.
Enlist the aid of a colleague and stage a memorable but unstressful event. Tell the class that
what they witnessed was an experiment in memory, then have them write down what they
“saw,” as they can best recall. You will probably have as many explanations of the
scenario as you have students in the class. If class members do not object, read some of the
more interesting responses aloud to demonstrate the fallibility of memory.
5. Have students think about their earliest memory. Then, either have them volunteer to
discuss their memories in class, and the class can try to arrive at some interpretation of
their meaning, or have students turn them into you, and you can pick out some of the more
interesting ones to be presented to the class anonymously for class discussion.
An interesting point of discussion here can be trying to find out if these are real memories
of an event, or “memories” that are based on hearing constant retellings of the event by
parents or siblings. Additionally, today you have the first generation of college students
who may also have “memories” of early childhood events that are really the product of
watching themselves on home video recordings.
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CHAPTER 8: MEMORY
SUPPLEMENTAL LECTURE MATERIAL
The Lost Memories of Early Childhood
You may want to begin a lecture by asking students to write a brief answer to the question “What is
your earliest memory from childhood?” People cannot recall autobiographical memories before
their third or fourth year, yet children have remarkable memories in other ways. A two-year-old can
remember where grandmother keeps the cookies even if she has not been to grandmother’s house
for a month. The ability of children to acquire language before the age of three also indicates
considerable memory capacity. Children also store and remember motor skills. If a child learns to
ride a tricycle before he is three, he will probably still be able to do it at 70. So why do we not
remember autobiographical information?