Memory Interview



Memory Interview

Here are the questions to use in organizing your interviews of 2 informants. Spaces allow you to put notes right after each question. You might want to print this out twice, once for each informant.

Every time someone gives you some information, ask “What are you thinking of... do you have an example?” (this is important for interpreting responses)

1. give some examples of when you use your memory. What are some situations in which you use memory? [note: use this information on following questions as examples to give context. On this question, most informants will think of studying for a test, remembering a short grocery list, or remembering a to-do list for the day. If they don’t name these, ASK if these are good examples]

common: phone number, grocery list, birthday, study for a test, directions/knowing your way around, finding something

2. have you heard of the idea that there are 2 memory systems? short and long term memory? (if so, what is the difference... examples?)

many will have heard of this. Little agreement about the length of stm

3. Do memories fade? Are they lost? why?

(some possibilities:

++ they fade away,

++ they get lost in the jumble of things to remember,

++ important or relevant memories are stored better than ordinary memories, and they last longer

++ CONTROVERSIAL: your memory can get too full so storing more becomes difficult, especially in older people

Many like both fading and losing perhaps for different memories.

Memories are not lost but recalling is sometimes more difficult.

UNCERTAIN: memories can actually be totally gone, unrecallable from your memory.

Can they be FOUND again.

3a. does repetition help prevent loss?

yes

3b. can making associations help to store memories better?

Yes

4. Does storing something in memory usually involve effort? Do you usually have to work to get something to stay in memory? Does recalling information often involve effort?

Usually storing and recalling involve effort, but most people can think of exceptions. For example a trauma (seats itself in your memory well) Unfamiliar things need more effort to recall

5. Are some people better than others at memory? Are some cultures better?

Yes (education level, learning strategies)

Culture… may depend on resources

There seems to be a personality trait of “good memory” AND some people work at it more than others.

Photographic memories?

6. Is the memory system organized? If so how?

Often yes, but not always. There are LOTS of personal metaphors (onion, newspaper, filing cabinet, by life area, elevator with floors, juke box, ladder, wonkavator,

7. Is memory selective? Do you remember some things and not others? Explain the selective aspect.

This usually boils down to easy v. difficult, or frequently recalled v. rarely recalled. Most do not think of not WANTING to recall a memory, or biases in recall.

Importance or (rare) don’t want to remember,

8. Can memory be improved if you work at it? What helps? Does practice help? What should you do?

Generally yes. Memory games, using mnemonics, cross-word puzzles?

9. Do most people have a fairly accurate memory? Or are their memories subject to distortion? [ask for a %]

Some distortion. People prefer to concentrate on OMISSION here. Everyone sees things from a different aspect. [on member check,

1. query people about what % of MEMORIES are inaccurate;

60-70% of the population has a fairly accurate memory. However, almost no one has a perfectly accurate memory

10-15 % of a person’s memories may be inaccurate, whereas it might go up to 30-40%

2. Is distortion a matter of filling in or completing a partial memory OR active changing of the memory where people remember what they WANT to remember]

Filling in is common, but especially for some people, “bending the truth” is common.

10. What about your memory? Are most of your memories a fairly accurate record of your experiences, except for the gaps? Or do many of your memories change or get distorted? How common is it for one of your memories to change or be wildly inaccurate? (this is distinct from gaps and holes in memory) [ask for %]

Most believe their own memories are more accurate than others (self-serving bias). You may not CHECK the accuracy of your memories against others’ memories; BUT you do have some experiences with your own memories that you don’t have with others.

11. Freud believed unpleasant memories could be repressed. This is not a conscious process but an involuntary process where the unconscious mind makes a memory inaccessible to the conscious mind. Do you believe this can occur? Why?

Most agree that repression occurs. Example: traumatic event: real repression can occur.

Or instead of repression, can you just “wipe” something out of your memory banks so it is not there?

This is not possible.

Or can you change an unpleasant memory into one less unpleasant?

yes

Or can you just avoid recalling the memory?

mixed

12. Are emotional events (such as 9-11 or a car accident or winning the lottery) better remembered than ordinary events? For example?

yes

13. Is complex information more difficult to store than simple information?

Yes. Math is easy and interesting whereas history is hard and boring… simple v. complex…. Math is complicated but if you break it down into simpler pieces it is easier to remember. (differential storage).

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