Person Memory (PLE: Memory)


Book Description

Originally published in 1980, this title came about after many late night discussions between the authors during a 3-week workshop on Mathematical Approaches to Person Perception in 1974. In subsequent meetings a mutual interest emerged in the development of cognitive information processing metaphors for human thought and their application to problems of social perception, memory and judgment. Within the context of modern research on social cognition, the most distinctive aspects of the authors’ work was its empirical focus on how people cognitively represent people in memory, and its theoretical emphasis on models of cognitive organization and process. They concluded that an adequate theory of social memory was the necessary foundation for solutions to many questions concerning social perception and judgment that had dominated the 1974 workshop. This volume summarizes work conducted between 1974 and 1979 on social memory by these authors. In addition to six chapters summarizing individual research programs, the volume includes a general introduction and a concluding theoretical integration.




The Science of Memory (PLE: Memory)


Book Description

Originally published in 1902, this title was discovered as a manuscript after the author’s death and was published 4 years later. David Kay published articles on various subjects and was one of the sub-editors on the eighth edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica. After writing an article on mnemonics he became very interested in the subject of memory. He had already published a title in 1888, Memory: What It Is, and How to Improve It, and this volume was intended to build on that discussion. A great opportunity to read one of the early discussions on human memory.




Introduction to Human Memory (PLE: Memory)


Book Description

Originally published in 1986, this book was written for undergraduates who had completed an introductory course in psychology, and aimed to acquaint the student with the core of recent experimental findings and theoretical ideas concerning human memory. Each chapter deals with a specific area of memory research but care is taken to build on what has been covered in preceding chapters, so providing an integrated treatment of the subject. Thus, the book can comfortably be read from cover to cover, or selected issues can be referred to in isolation. Important features of the book include discussion of fundamental issues about the nature of the scientific process, the role of models and theories in it, and the historical development of models of human memory. Also, the treatment of ‘Forgetting’ includes chapters on motivational aspects (psychopathological forgetting, post-hypnotic amnesia, and directed forgetting), and organic amnesia.




The Processing of Memories (PLE: Memory)


Book Description

Originally published in 1978, this volume contains the evidence that is most crucial for our understanding the processes of forgetting and retention. Organized in terms of problem areas and issues that are particularly pertinent to understanding these processes, the book deals with both animal and human studies. The author begins by defining the topic and reviewing its historical development. A theoretical orientation follows, and then the author begins to address the major factors that determine what is, and what is not, remembered. Although we cannot yet specify the principles from which we can predict when an episode, once learned, will be remembered well or forgotten entirely, the author demonstrates that such principles are not that far away. He considers the issues that must be resolved before such principles are established, and in the course of doing so covers the major research on why we remember events and why they are forgotten.




The Science of Memory (PLE: Memory)


Book Description

Originally published in 1902, this title was discovered as a manuscript after the author’s death and was published 4 years later. David Kay published articles on various subjects and was one of the sub-editors on the eighth edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica. After writing an article on mnemonics he became very interested in the subject of memory. He had already published a title in 1888, Memory: What It Is, and How to Improve It, and this volume was intended to build on that discussion. A great opportunity to read one of the early discussions on human memory.




Organisation and Memory (PLE: Memory)


Book Description

Originally published in 1973, this volume looks at the organisation of memory data in, what at the time was termed, ‘mental handicap’. The first part surveys recent work in this important area, giving a general account of experiments and findings. The second part reports a particular piece of research on memory in people with learning difficulties, then called ‘subnormal individuals’. Very much of its time, in terms of the terminology, this was an important book for anyone concerned with people with intellectual disabilities and for experimental psychologists involved with the processes of memory.




The Representation of Meaning in Memory (PLE: Memory)


Book Description

Originally published in 1974, this volume presents empirical and theoretical investigations of the role of meaning in psychological processes. A theory is proposed for the representation of the meaning of texts, employing ordered lists of propositions. The author explores the adequacy of this representation, with respect to the demands made upon such formulations by logicians and linguists. A sufficiently large number of problems are encompassed by the propositional theory to justify its use in psychological research into memory and language comprehension. A number of different experiments are reported on a wide variety of topics, and these test central portions of this theory, and any that purports to deal with how humans represent meaning. Among the topics discussed are the role of lexical decomposition in comprehension and memory, propositions as the units of recall, and the effects of the number of propositions in a text base upon reading rate and recall. New problems are explored, such as inferential processes during reading, differences in levels of memory for text, and retrieval speed for textual information. On the other hand, a study of retrieval from semantic memory focusses on a problem of much current research. The final review chapter relates the present work to other current research in the area at the time.




Retrieval and Organizational Strategies in Conceptual Memory (PLE: Memory)


Book Description

‘Someday we expect that computers will be able to keep us informed about the news. People have imagined being able to ask their home computers questions such as "What’s going on in the world?"...’. Originally published in 1984, this book is a fascinating look at the world of memory and computers before the internet became the mainstream phenomenon it is today. It looks at the early development of a computer system that could keep us informed in a way that we now take for granted. Presenting a theory of remembering, based on human information processing, it begins to address many of the hard problems implicated in the quest to make computers remember. The book had two purposes in presenting this theory of remembering. First, to be used in implementing intelligent computer systems, including fact retrieval systems and intelligent systems in general. Any intelligent program needs to use and store and use a great deal of knowledge. The strategies and structures in the book were designed to be used for that purpose. Second, the theory attempts to explain how people’s memories work and makes predictions about the organization of human memory.




Alcohol and Human Memory (PLE: Memory)


Book Description

Originally published in 1977, the chapters in this volume offer a concise review of the research and new direction in the study of alcohol and cognition at the time. Each chapter has been prepared by an eminent researcher who was currently involved in investigating human cognitive behaviour. The chapters contain not just a dry summary of work done in the field, but descriptions of the impetus for the work that was done, problems in doing such work, knowledge that was gained, and suggestions for future research. Many new approaches are presented for the study of alcohol and memory, and for the understanding of results of studies already done. This was a forward-looking volume not only about directions for future research, but with solid contributions that review and integrate major areas of inquiry on the influence of alcohol on memory and behaviour at the time.




The Processing of Memories (PLE: Memory)


Book Description

Originally published in 1978, this volume contains the evidence that is most crucial for our understanding the processes of forgetting and retention. Organized in terms of problem areas and issues that are particularly pertinent to understanding these processes, the book deals with both animal and human studies. The author begins by defining the topic and reviewing its historical development. A theoretical orientation follows, and then the author begins to address the major factors that determine what is, and what is not, remembered. Although we cannot yet specify the principles from which we can predict when an episode, once learned, will be remembered well or forgotten entirely, the author demonstrates that such principles are not that far away. He considers the issues that must be resolved before such principles are established, and in the course of doing so covers the major research on why we remember events and why they are forgotten.