Autobiographical Memories. Blog. February, 2, 2009

In Schacter’s Searching For Memory” (in chapter 3, “Time and Autobiography”), a major theme that stood out for me initially was the presentation of the two theories regarding the nature of memory storage and retrieval. One being that all that we have experienced is permanently stored in our brain and it is a matter of the particular methods and circumstances of the retrieval. Another is that memories can become permanently lost or non-existent. While both theories seem to have validity, I find the first concept to be the most interesting. The quote:“…That all experienced events exist somewhere in the mind, pretty much in their original form, simply waiting for the right cue to illicit them…” (Schacter, pg. 76) resonated as a direct example of this. This has shown me more how much of the recall of our memories is so heavily dependent on the circumstances in which are recalling a memory and not simply whether or not the memory was there to begin with. In addition to the aforementioned content, surrounding these ideas, I wonder how much of our ability to recall memories could also be due to emotional factors and how much is truly attributed to “cut-and-dry’ scientific methods of psychology that affect the human experience of “forgetting” a memory, and in addition one’s ability to retrieve it. While this chapter certainly did not seem to imply that these are the only ways in which to deal with memory, it is interesting to think about how the fact that, for example, a memory was so painful that our mind “shut it down” for a while, or that it was incredibly positive, and therefore stood out more clearly. It is also interesting to contemplate how complex and complicated it must be when combining these more subjective factors with the studies and theories mentioned in the book.