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An expert on memory, including computer stimulation of memory and eyewitness memory and cognition, Gary Gillund is an associate professor of psychology and chair of the department at The College of Wooster. He received his bachelor's degree from North Dakota State University and his Ph.D. from Indiana University before joining the Wooster faculty in 1989. Gillund received a post-doctoral grant from the Center for Research in Human Learning from the University of Minnesota and the Esther L. Kinsey Ph.D. Dissertation Award from his alma mater, Indiana University. An accomplished author, Gillund has published numerous psychological articles on memory, learning, aging, and human development, including "Episodic Memory and Knowledge Interactions Across Adulthood" in Language, Memory, and Aging. Gillund is a member of several professional organizations, including the Psychonomic Society, the American Psychological Society, and the Society for Computers in Psychology. In addition, he has memberships in two national honorary societies: Psi Chi and Phi Kappa Phi. |
Individual memory has been the subject of intense research for many years. During that time, psychologists have learned a great deal about one's ability to recall or retain past experiences. Gary Gillund, associate professor of psychology at The College of Wooster, specializes in memory, and he shares some of the fundamental principals of memory as well as some of the common misconceptions in this column. Is there such a thing as a photographic memory? Many people equate a photographic memory with a perfect memory. When used in that sense, a photographic memory does not exist. A photographic memory is also said to exist in people with exceptional visual memories. There have been reports of a few adults and some children with truly exceptional visual memories. However, even these exceptionally detailed memories are not really photographic. These extremely vivid visual memories often contain details not found in the original event, other details that were present in the original event are left out of the memory, and the stored memory tends to fade over time much faster than a photograph would. Does everyone's memory fade with age? Episodic memory - memory for personally experienced events - tends to decline with increasing age, and we begin to see some declines even in our 30s. Semantic memory, which is our memory for facts and general information, usually increases with age - at least into our 60s. Older adults regularly perform better on semantic memory tasks than younger adults. Memory for how to do things (procedural memory) such as type, ride a bike, or throw a ball, remains fairly constant across adulthood. So, how memory changes with age depends on the type of memory we examine. Additionally, factors other than age have a large impact on memory performance. For example, adults who are physically and mentally active and in good health often show little decline on any type of memory task. On the other hand, older adults who are not healthy often show very large declines on many memory tasks. Because certain kinds of illnesses that affect memory are more likely in older adults, we often erroneously attribute loss of memory to age rather than disease. Do some people tend to remember verbally while others remember visually? There are certainly differences among people in terms of how well they remember different kinds of information, including visual and verbal information. Actually, most of us tend to remember pictures better than words. Virtually everyone remembers both kinds of information. The differences that we observe among people are largely explained by differences in preferences for and experience with different kinds of material. We do not find distinct visual memory and verbal memory people. Scientifically, is a memory considered a record of the truth or is it subject to fantasy and differences in perspectives? Our memories are filled with inaccuracies. We add some details to events that we remember, leave out other details, and distort yet other details. It is extremely easy to demonstrate that memory is filled with errors. Fortunately for us, we often remember the big picture correctly. That is, the gist of an event is usually remembered correctly even if the details are wrong. Is there any way to improve one's memory? There is a variety of mnemonics (memory strategies) that has been shown to improve memory performance dramatically. Some of these mnemonics have been used for hundreds of years. For simple lists of materials, these mnemonics can improve performance from 50% to 300% over the common strategy of simply rehearsing the material to yourself for a short time. There are many self-help memory books that will teach you these techniques. Unfortunately, to use these techniques effectively you need to practice them, and they do require a good deal of effort. Most people are disappointed in mnemonics because they want them to be both effortless and effective. They are effective, but they are far from effortless. Why do some people have more comprehensive memories than others? Research indicates that it is rare to have a good (or bad) memory across the board. Instead, we tend to be good in some areas and poor in others. Some of the differences among individuals may have to do with differences in brain physiology that affect such mechanisms as attentional capacity, short-term memory capacity, or the speed with which we can process information. The strategies and techniques we use to memorize material probably play an even larger role in explaining why some people have better memories than others. Finally, the knowledge that we have about a topic also plays a very important role in determining memory performance. Generally speaking, the more we know about a topic the easier it is to remember something new related to it. Do mind-altering drugs (legal or illicit) have positive or negative effects on memory? The list of drugs that influence memory performance is very long. For example, several stimulants improve memory performance if given in low doses immediately after studying material. Glucose (sugar) has been found to improve the memory of some older adults if taken at the time material is studied. On the other hand, several drugs that are taken to treat sleeping disorders, anxiety, and depression can markedly impair memory, especially if inappropriate doses of the medication are administered. I would strongly discourage anyone from taking a drug to improve memory performance, even the herbal and vitamin supplements that are available now. Although it is possible that an appropriate dose of some drug given at the right time might improve some aspect of memory, an inappropriate amount of the same drug may do nothing or it may even impair memory. Finally, using a good mnemonic will improve memory more than virtually any of the drugs that have been shown to be beneficial to memory performance thus far. |
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| Last updated: January 10, 2006 · For more information, contact John Finn | ||
