Individual Differences In Memory

Memory processes involve encoding, storing, and retrieving past events and knowledge. Research has found individual differences in memory that can affect memory processes. These include:

• Trauma.

• Age.

• Brain activity.

• Schemas.

• Processing speed.

There are individual differences in memory, Pixabay

Memories and individual experiences

There are different types of memories. Individual experiences shape some of these memories, examples of which are:

Episodic memories

Autobiographical memories

Some people have hyperthymesia. These are people who are strikingly good at remembering and recalling autobiographical memories. A woman named A.J. could remember every day of her life since she was 14 years old. Little is known about the cause of this phenomenon. However, this shows the importance of studying individual differences in memory.There are also cases where people with intellectual disabilities such as autism have exceptional abilities in other areas; these people are called ‘savants’. Kim Peek was one notable savant who inspired Dustin Hoffman to create his character in the movie Rain Man.Kim was born with a severe brain injury causing him to have significant difficulty with motor tasks such as buttoning his shirt. Kim’s memory, however, was exceptional. He read 12,000 books and could remember every detail of them. He could read two pages simultaneously, one page with his left eye and the other with his right eye. If you tell Kim a date, he can tell you what day of the week the date falls on. Thanks to his remarkable memory and ability to do mathematical calculations in his head, Kim could memorise maps and calculate the best routes between any two cities in the world.

Individual differences in processing speed

How information is processed affects whether memories can be retrieved later and how accurate they are. If a memory is not processed quickly enough before it moves from short-term to long-term memory, it may decay. If a memory decays, it can no longer be recalled.Individual differences in working memory are differences in people’s ability to direct their attention, which is directed to the central executive component of the working memory model (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974). In addition to how the brain processes, encodes, and stores stimuli directed toward the other components of the model.It has also been found that the processing speed of memories varies due to individual differences, such as:

• Age: as people age, the speed of memory processing slows down.

• Diseases such as dementia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can affect memory processing speed.

Individual differences in schema

Because we all have different life experiences, our schemas are different, and our schemas influence the way we remember things. Our memories are reconstructed to fit our schema.

We reconstruct our memories according to our schemas, Pixabay

How do individual differences in memory affect cognitive abilities?

Memory is a form of cognition necessary for other cognitive abilities to work efficiently. Examples of cognitive abilities affected by memory include reading, listening, and attention skills. Individual differences in memory can also affect different types of memory.

Individual differences in working memory and reading

Daneman and Carpenter (1980) found that performance on reading comprehension tasks may result from differences in working memory capacity. The study found:

• People with poor reading comprehension may need to limit the amount of information they store in working memory.

• People with good reading skills were more effective at chunking.

  • Chunking is the ability to group individual ‘chunks’ of information. In this way, memory capacity can increase.

Individual differences in accuracy of eyewitness memory

The Yerkes-Dodson law explains why there are individual differences in the accuracy of eyewitness testimony. The theory is that the amount of fear one feels as a witness to a crime affects one’s recollection of the events:

• Low and high anxiety levels – memory accuracy is minimal.

• Moderate levels of anxiety are the optimal level where memory is most accurate.

Memory loss after a traumatic event can occur due to physical trauma. However, some people forget memories of an event because they repressed the memory. According to psychodynamic psychologists, one defence mechanism is to repress memories. This defence mechanism aims to prevent negative effects, such as panic attacks, that may occur when a traumatic event is remembered. Therefore, the accuracy of eyewitness testimony may depend on how distressed someone is during an event or whether they have experienced a similar negative event.

Individual differences in working memory capacity and dual-process theories of the mind

The dual-process theory of the mind assumes there are two ways in which thoughts can arise:

1. Automatic – this system is unconscious and is typically used for instantaneous thinking.

2. Controlled – this system is intentional and is used when a person must make a conscious effort to think. This system is typically used when people make rational, calculated thoughts.

People with lower working memory capacity rely on the automatic system. People with higher working memory capacity, on the other hand, use the controlled system. When additional tasks are added (increase in information load), people with higher working memory capacity are more impaired than people with lower capacity.

Individual differences in colour memory

Research has shown that people are more likely to pay attention to coloured objects. Attention to information is vital in the process of encoding and storing memories.

Rindermann, Ackermann, and Nijenhuis (2020) found that blind and visually impaired children have higher working memory capacity than non visually impaired children. This finding suggests the brain can compensate for deficits due to visual impairments. Thus, perceiving colours does not necessarily lead to an improvement in memory.

There are differences in the ability to form and retrieve episodic memories. Kirchhoff (2009) suggested the individual differences responsible for this are as follows:

• Differences in brain activity during encoding and retrieval of episodic memories – research has found a positive correlation between activity in the prefrontal cortex and memory performance. This finding was evident when an effective strategy was used to recall the stimuli.

• Differences in encoding strategies – some strategies used to remember information are more effective than others for remembering things.

• Brain lesions – individuals with brain damage may have difficulty recalling or retrieving memories.

• Memory disorders – memory disorders can cause people not to form or recall episodic memories.

Herlitz, Nilsson, and Bäckman (1997) found women performed better than men on episodic memory tasks. There were no gender differences on tests of semantic memory. In general, however, there do not appear to be gender differences in memory.

Evaluation of the individual differences in memory

Let’s now evaluate the individual differences in memory.

Strengths

• There is a great deal of research evidence supporting individual differences in memory. There is also evidence from case studies such as A.J. and Kim Peek.

• Differences in memory can be applied to eyewitness testimony. For example, young children and the elderly can be unreliable witnesses. People with hyperthymesia or savants can be very helpful in remembering an event.

Weaknesses

• Special cases such as savants cannot be readily generalised to others in the same group. Not every person with intellectual disabilities is a savant.

• Individual differences in memory could be explained by general memory models. Brain scans of A.J., for example, suggested her brain functioned the same as that of people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).