Episodic Memory - Assignment Example

Wk 6 Assignment Many people fear that as they grow older their memory will fade. For some this is exactly what happens but for others this may notbe true. According to some experts whether one loses memory or not can be linked to their genetics. According to Santrock (2008), memory "is the retention of information over time" (p. 249). There are several factors that influence memory as people age. When people are younger, they have a stronger working memory and processing speed. Working memory will increase throughout childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, but it peaks when a person is 45. At that point, it would decline at 57 years old (Santrock, 2008). Processing speeds also declined as people age and "is linked with a decline in working memory (Santrock, p. 256). Episodic memory is also better in younger adults than in older adults. Attention is "the focusing of mental resources" (Santrock, 2008, p. 245). In early adulthood, attention is good, but it changes when people get older. Selective attention also is very much a part of older adult challenges because they are less able to do this. Also, older adults decline in performance as the demands for their attention increase (Santrock, 2008). According to the cultural specificity hypothesis, "cultural experiences determine what is relevant in a persons life …" (Santrock, 2008, p. 250). Basically, this hypothesis suggests that what people remember is linked to what their culture sees as important. Also, the interests of the individuals in a culture or subculture will also decide what they think is important to focus on and to remember. Women in studies have shown that women are better at episodic memory than men and they are better at "emotion-linked memory (Santrock, p. 251). Men appear better when they have to remember in visio-spatial working memory than women. Assignment 2 In reading your post, I had to think about whether I could recall an incident from my childhood, and why I remembered it. "I realized that it is true that we can recall an incident when there is a strong emotion attached to it. I agree with this statement and I would add that it does not matter whether it is an emotion that is considered positive or negative as to whether an individual remembers it. I do not agree that it is impossible "To recall the events of birth or much prior to the age of the development of explicit memory." The reason I do not believe this is because there is evidence that babies can remember. As an example, Sack (2009) reported on a n expert who said this is possible. Professor Alicia Lieberman at the University of California at San Francisco said that it is a misconception. That infants cannot remember. Instead, she states they can remember traumatic events. She said that when an infant has been exposed to trauma, they will look for meaning later in life (Sack, 2009). "Young babies even five months old can remember that a stranger came into the room and scared them three weeks before" (Sack, par. 7). She states that they may not mention this traumatic event until later in their life, but hey are affected by it. Often, there may be events that trigger the fear and this can lead to behavior problems in the child or adult. When thinking about this information, it would stand to reason that babies could remember their birth if it was traumatic or if something happened later that would trigger the memory. I think that scientists and researchers have not figured all of this out yet and it will be interesting to see what happens in the future. Assignment 3 My personal definition of intelligence is that it is the culmination of everything an individual has learned throughout their lives. Intelligence starts in the environment and is accumulated through what the individual sees and experiences in his environment. When a child begins school, a secondary intelligence happens because of the education they receive. Book learning and environmental learning come together to create intelligence. According to Jensen (1969 as quoted in Santrock, 2008), intelligence was more a product of genetics and environment had little to do with it. Jensen used IQ tests as the major aspects of measuring intelligence, and he used identical twins that were reared together or reared apart. The studies on how heredity works on intelligence look at groups rather than at individuals and they do not include environment that are "Radically different" from each other (Santrock, 2008). With heritability of intelligence will increase over time from infancy. These studies showed that the environment does not have a lot to do with intelligence. The environment does play a part in determining intelligence at least in terms of modifications that are done to the environment. As an example, an environment where parents talk to their children on a regular basis, during their first three years, will help their children score higher on IQ tests (Santrock, 2008). Education has an influence especially when children were deprived of formal education; it was found that there was a difference of 5 IQ points "for every year of delay" (Santrock, p. 292). The Schaie studies (2007) suggested that cognitive functioning declined form age 60 to age 67, but their children showed a moderate increase in their cognitive functioning when they reached the same ages. There was no proof in these studies that stated that "cognitively normal and impaired older adults did not differ on measures of vocabulary, spatial orientation and numerical ability in middle life" (Santrock, p. 302). But, older adults experienced declines in "memory, word fluency and perceptual speed" (Santrock, p. 302). Assignment 4 I think that IQ tests are a very negative way of working with children and adults. These are usually geared towards Anglos and they are not helpful for people of color. In fact, they seem to categorize them into negative stereotypes that can be difficult for them to change as they go through school. I also think that children can be put into situations that can be detrimental for them and teach them not to try. As an example, a teacher could decided that based on a childs IQ points, that they are incapable of doing certain class work or performing certain tasks. Because of this, the child never is exposed to an opportunity in the same way that other children are shown. In effect, the child probably could have done the task, but if the teacher has already an opinion of what the child can or cannot do, the child looses the opportunity. Marva Collins (1990) is an example of an educator that did not allow IQ to enter into the learning that her children did. She taught children that other schools turned away or gave up on. She was an educator who started her own school to teach these children and she taught every child the same way. She did not use IQ as a way to stop children because she knew that all children could learn if they were given the opportunity. Collins taught children to have dignity within themselves, to understand why learning was important, and to honor themselves in the learning process; she had success with children that other schools could not help. References Collins, M. (1990) Marva Collins way. NY: Putnum. Sack, D. (5 August 2009). Babies can remember traumatic events. Elements Behavioral Health Blog. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/behavioral-health-news/babies-can- remember-traumatic-events-for-years/ Santrock, J.W. (2008). A topical approach to lifespan development. 2nd Edition. NY: McGraw-Hill. Read More