Memory In A Social Context

The first comprehensive theoretical formulation of the way people use information they receive about their social environments to make judgments and behavioral decisions, this volume focuses on the cognitive processes that underlie the use of social information. These include initial interpretation, the representations used to make inferences, and the transformation of these subjective inferences into overt judgment and behavior. In addition, it specifies the role of affect and emotion in information processing, and the role of self-knowledge at different stages of processing. The theoretical model presented here is the first to provide a conceptual integration of existing theory and research in all phases of social information processing. It not only accounts for the major portion of existing research findings, but permits several hypotheses to be generated concerning phenomena that have not yet been empirically investigated. Although focused here on the processing of information about people and events, the formulation proposed has implications for other domains such as personnel appraisal, political decision making, and consumer behavior.

This book explores new points of view of human memory in the link among mind, brain, and society. Research of human memory traditionally has been in the field of experimental psychology, and a number of psychological researchers have come upon important findings regarding human memory. They have provided critical theories to explain human memory processes, but this approach is hitting a brick wall. The experimental psychological approach or laboratory-based approach to human memory functions is examined in a very controlled environment, but the evidence obtained from this approach may not necessarily reflect real-life events in our mind. In addition, findings from experimental psychology have often ignored the link with biological structures, or the brain. One solution is a cognitive neuroscience approach, in which functional neuroimaging techniques have enabled us to view how memory processes are represented in the brain. In addition, the new approach extends the traditional concept of human memory into a wider framework by reconsidering memory functions in a social context. These advanced approaches help us to understand how “social memory” is represented in the human brain and is processed in real-life situations. The work reported in this volume is at the forefront of cognitive neuroscience in the research of human memory in a social context and the potential application of memory research. This book will help to motivate young scientists and graduate and undergraduate students in psychology and neuroscience.

This book explores new points of view of human memory in the link among mind, brain, and society. Research of human memory traditionally has been in the field of experimental psychology, and a number of psychological researchers have come upon important findings regarding human memory. They have provided critical theories to explain human memory processes, but this approach is hitting a brick wall. The experimental psychological approach or laboratory-based approach to human memory functions is examined in a very controlled environment, but the evidence obtained from this approach may not necessarily reflect real-life events in our mind. In addition, findings from experimental psychology have often ignored the link with biological structures, or the brain. One solution is a cognitive neuroscience approach, in which functional neuroimaging techniques have enabled us to view how memory processes are represented in the brain. In addition, the new approach extends the traditional concept of human memory into a wider framework by reconsidering memory functions in a social context. These advanced approaches help us to understand how “social memory” is represented in the human brain and is processed in real-life situations. The work reported in this volume is at the forefront of cognitive neuroscience in the research of human memory in a social context and the potential application of memory research. This book will help to motivate young scientists and graduate and undergraduate students in psychology and neuroscience.

The first comprehensive theoretical formulation of the way people use information they receive about their social environments to make judgments and behavioral decisions, this volume focuses on the cognitive processes that underlie the use of social information. These include initial interpretation, the representations used to make inferences, and the transformation of these subjective inferences into overt judgment and behavior. In addition, it specifies the role of affect and emotion in information processing, and the role of self-knowledge at different stages of processing. The theoretical model presented here is the first to provide a conceptual integration of existing theory and research in all phases of social information processing. It not only accounts for the major portion of existing research findings, but permits several hypotheses to be generated concerning phenomena that have not yet been empirically investigated. Although focused here on the processing of information about people and events, the formulation proposed has implications for other domains such as personnel appraisal, political decision making, and consumer behavior.

Ecological/cognitive approach applied to self-narrative.

How do we use our mental images of the present to reconstruct our past? Maurice Halbwachs (1877-1945) addressed this question for the first time in his work on collective memory, which established him as a major figure in the history of sociology. This volume, the first comprehensive English-language translation of Halbwach's writings on the social construction of memory, fills a major gap in the literature on the sociology of knowledge. Halbwachs' primary thesis is that human memory can only function within a collective context. Collective memory, Halbwachs asserts, is always selective; various groups of people have different collective memories, which in turn give rise to different modes of behavior. Halbwachs shows, for example, how pilgrims to the Holy Land over the centuries evoked very different images of the events of Jesus' life; how wealthy old families in France have a memory of the past that diverges sharply from that of the nouveaux riches; and how working class construction of reality differ from those of their middle-class counterparts. With a detailed introduction by Lewis A. Coser, this translation will be an indispensable source for new research in historical sociology and cultural memory. Lewis A. Coser is Distinguished Professor of Sociology Emeritus at the State University of New York and Adjunct Professor of Sociology at Boston College.

This edited collection provides an inter- and intra-disciplinary discussion of the critical role context plays in how and when individuals and groups remember the past. International contributors integrate key research from a range of disciplines, including social and cognitive psychology, discursive psychology, philosophy/philosophical psychology and cognitive linguistics, to increase awareness of the central role that cultural, social and technological contexts play in determining individual and collective recollections at multiple, yet interconnected, levels of human experience. Divided into three parts, cognitive and psychological perspectives, social and cultural perspectives, and cognitive linguistics and philosophical perspectives, Stone and Bietti present a breadth of research on memory in context. Topics covered include: the construction of self-identity in memory flashbulb memories scaffolding memory the cultural psychology of remembering social aspects of memory the mnemonic consequences of silence emotion and memory eyewitness identification multimodal communication and collective remembering. Contextualizing Human Memory allows researchers to understand the variety of work undertaken in related fields, and to appreciate the importance of context in understanding when, how and what is remembered at any given recollection. The book will appeal to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of cognitive and social psychology, as well as those in related disciplines interested in learning more about the advancing field of memory studies.

For some time now, the study of cognitive development has been far and away the most active discipline within developmental psychology. Although there would be much disagreement as to the exact proportion of papers published in developmental journals that could be considered cognitive, 50% seems like a conservative estimate. Hence, a series of scholarly books devoted to work in cognitive development is especially appropriate at this time. The Springer Series in Cognitive Development contains two basic types of books, namely, edited collections of original chapters by several authors, and original volumes written by one author or a small group of authors. The flagship for the Springer Series is a serial pUblication of the" advances" type, carrying the subtitle Progress in Cognitive Development Research. Each volume in the Progress sequence is strongly thematic, in that it is limited to some well-defined domain of cognitive-developmental research (e. g. , logical and mathematical development, development of learning). All Progress volumes will be edited collections. Editors of such collections, upon consultation with the Series Editor, may elect to have their books published either as contributions to the Progress sequence or as separate volumes. All books written by one author or a small group of authors are being published as separate volumes within the series. A fairly broad definition of cognitive development is being used in the selection of books for this series.