Memory In Everyday Life

The last decade has seen a major growth in research on how memory is used in everyday life. This volume represents a reaction to traditional laboratory-bound studies of the first half of the century which sought to identify the fundamental principles of learning and memory through the use of materials and methods totally divorced from the real world. The new wave of memory research has had considerable success in charting how memory develops, the role it plays in educational and social skills and the impact of memory impairment on mental life. The current volume consists of authoritative reviews of this emerging area linked to comment and criticism from major researchers in the field. Contrasted, probably for the first time, are two major styles of research in applied memory research: The naturalistic approach, which has sought to study memory in everyday environments, using actual experiences from people's lives as the raw data from which to derive more general principles, and the applied cognitive approach, whereby theories and methods are developed using orthodox laboratory techniques which are then validated by applying them directly to real phenomena. This is one of the few books to bring together evidence across the very wide spectrum of humdrum activity that constitutes the everyday uses of memory.

Dr. Gordon explains the difference between a real memory impairment and the normal absent-mindedness that occasionally affects us all--especially as we age. Memory offers simple strategies for dealing with age-related memory loss, based on fascinating and informative research findings.

This book presents an authoritative overview of memory in everyday contexts, and gathers together research on some of the more neglected areas of memory, to provide a comprehensive overview of remembering in real life contexts.

How does the past matter in the present? How is a feeling of ‘ownership' of the past expressed in people's everyday lives? Should continuity with the distant past be seen as simply a nationalist fiction or is it transformed by local historical imagination? While recent anthropological studies have focused on reconstructing disputed histories, this book examines the multiple ways in which the past is used by people as a critical resource for interpreting the meanings of a changing present. It poses the issue of the felt relevance of the past in constructing present day identities. The Greek island of Kalymnos is a barren and seemingly bucolic setting of tourist imagination. But its history has been one of almost continuous occupation by foreign powers and of often fierce resistance. This has made Kalymnians particularly sensitive to seeing their island in a much wider context and to understanding the ‘games played by the powerful'. In examining changing gender relations, European integration, and local perceptions of the war in the former Yugoslavia, this book brings together local, national and international perspectives in a unified field. Controversial contemporary practices of dynamite throwing and dowry giving serve as tropes through which Kalymnians explore alternative ways of living in a changing world. Further, the author argues persuasively for the crucial importance of situated fieldwork in ‘peripheral'places in understanding the issues and conflicts of a transnational world. This book serves as an highly readable case study of the complex connections between local and global discourses and practices, and how they are shaped by their relationship to the past.

The past decade has witnessed a dramatic increase of interest in the practical applications of memory research: large numbers of psychologists who study memory are now interested in applying their work to the real world. Aspects of Memory brings together contributions by a team of internationally recognised experts, and reflects the major advances made in the past few years. Covering specific areas such as eyewitnessing and face recognitions, the problems of ageing and memory, memory improvement, prospective memory, and autobiographical memory, the bookd provides and excellent up-t-date review of current approaches to applied memory research. Contributors include: M. Gruneberg, P.E. Morris, A.E. Fruzzette, K. Toland, S.A. Teller, E. Loftus, H.D. Ellis, J.W. Shepherd, A. Mayes, D.M. Burke, D.J. Hermann, M. Palmisano, and J.A. Robinson

This fully revised and updated third edition of the highly acclaimed Memory in the Real World includes recent research in all areas of everyday memory. Distinguished researchers have contributed new and updated material in their own areas of expertise. The controversy about the value of naturalistic research, as opposed to traditional laboratory methods, is outlined, and the two approaches are seen to have converged and become complementary rather than antagonistic. The editors bring together studies on many different topics, such as memory for plans and actions, for names and faces, for routes and maps, life experiences and flashbulb memory, and eyewitness memory. Emphasis is also given to the role of memory in consciousness and metacognition. New topics covered in this edition include life span development of memory, collaborative remembering, deja-vu and memory dysfunction in the real world. Memory in the Real World will be of continuing appeal to students and researchers in the area.

This book is designed to help students organize their thinking about psychology at a conceptual level. The focus on behaviour and empiricism has produced a text that is better organized, has fewer chapters, and is somewhat shorter than many of the leading books. The beginning of each section includes learning objectives; throughout the body of each section are key terms in bold followed by their definitions in italics; key takeaways, and exercises and critical thinking activities end each section.