Involuntary Memory

This study promotes a new interpretation of involuntary autobiographical memories, a phenomenon previously defined as a sign of distress or trauma.

Involuntary memory was identified by the pioneering memoryresearcher Hermann Ebbinghaus more than a century ago, but it wasnot until very recently that cognitive psychologists began to studythis memory phenomenon. This book is the first to examine keytopics and cutting-edge research in involuntary memory. Discusses topics such as involuntary memories in everyday life,across the life-span, and in the laboratory; the special ways inwhich involuntary memories sometimes manifest themselves and anumber of theoretical treatments of the topic. Presents innovative research that not only represents thestarting point of the study of involuntary memory, but also placesit in such broader topics as autobiographical memory, consciousnessand memory, aging and memory, implicit and explicit memory,depression, and psychosis.

Involuntary memory was identified by the pioneering memory researcher Hermann Ebbinghaus more than a century ago, but it was not until very recently that cognitive psychologists began to study this memory phenomenon. This book is the first to examine key topics and cutting-edge research in involuntary memory. Discusses topics such as involuntary memories in everyday life, across the life-span, and in the laboratory; the special ways in which involuntary memories sometimes manifest themselves and a number of theoretical treatments of the topic. Presents innovative research that not only represents the starting point of the study of involuntary memory, but also places it in such broader topics as autobiographical memory, consciousness and memory, aging and memory, implicit and explicit memory, depression, and psychosis.

The senses can be powerful triggers for memories of our past, eliciting a range of both positive and negative emotions. The smell or taste of a long forgotten sweet can stimulate a rich emotional response connected to our childhood, or a piece of music transport us back to our adolescence. Sense memories can be linked to all the senses - sound, vision, and even touch can also trigger intense and emotional memories of our past. In The Proust Effect, we learn about why sense memories are special, how they work in the brain, how they can enrich our daily life, and even how they can help those suffering from problems involving memory. A sense memory can be evoked by a smell, a taste, a flavour, a touch, a sound, a melody, a colour or a picture, or by some other involuntary sensory stimulus. Any of these can triggers a vivid, emotional reliving of a forgotten event in the past. Exploring the senses in thought-provoking scientific experiments and artistic projects, this fascinating book offers new insights into memory - drawn from neuroscience, the arts, and professions such as education, elderly care, health care therapy and the culinary profession.

This edited collection reviews and integrates current theories and perspectives on autobiographical memory.

Reviews and integrates the many theories, perspectives and approaches in the field of autobiographical memory.

Readers once believed in Proust’s madeleine and in Wordsworth’s recollections of his boyhood—but that was before literary culture began to defer to Freud’s questioning of adult memories of childhood. In this first sustained look at childhood memories as depicted in literature, Lorna Martens reveals how much we may have lost by turning our attention the other way. Her work opens a new perspective on early recollection—how it works, why it is valuable, and how shifts in our understanding are reflected in both scientific and literary writings. Science plays an important role in The Promise of Memory, which is squarely situated at the intersection of literature and psychology. Psychologists have made important discoveries about when childhood memories most often form, and what form they most often take. These findings resonate throughout the literary works of the three writers who are the focus of Martens’ book. Proust and Rilke, writing in the modernist period before Freudian theory penetrated literary culture, offer original answers to questions such as “Why do writers consider it important to remember childhood? What kinds of things do they remember? What do their memories tell us?” In Walter Benjamin, Martens finds a writer willing to grapple with Freud, and one whose writings on childhood capture that struggle. For all three authors, places and things figure prominently in the workings of memory. Connections between memory and materiality suggest new ways of understanding not just childhood recollection but also the artistic inclination, which draws on a childlike way of seeing: object-focused, imaginative, and emotionally intense.