Autobiographical Memory: PSYC3724R

Autobiographical memories represent the fabric of who we are as individuals, with content that ranges from mundane events to our most self-defining moments. It figures prominently in every aspect of our lives: earliest childhood recollections, developmental milestones and achievements, personal loss and public tragedy, and the breakdown of these memories across the lifespan. While autobiographical memory is one of the oldest topics within memory research it has become the subject of intense psychological study only recently. In this course we will survey and critically examine the evolution of perspectives that structure the field by juxtaposing canonical texts with current examples of empirical research. We will then draw from developmental psychology, clinical neuropsychology, personality theory, philosophy, sociology, law, and cognitive neuroscience to investigate the contexts and conditions that shape how autobiographical memory functions within individuals and between groups. We will question: How do culture, language, and gender influence the emergence of autobiographical memory and self-identity? What we can learn through diary studies? Where do these memories reside in the brain? What is the distribution of these memories across our lives? What are the effects of emotion and stress on memory? What are flashbulb memories? How accurate are eyewitness testimonies?  How do neuropsychological and psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, amnesia, and Alzheimer’s shape the past? We will also look at unusual cases of autobiographical memory such as alien abductions, multiple past lives, and memory experts. Conference work will offer students the opportunity to apply ongoing issues in autobiographical memory research to a wide range of disciplines including science, law, medicine, art, media, politics, and ethics