 |
|
No honeymoon replays: People don't want to taint special memories
November 18, 2008That unforgettable honeymoon has a special place in your memory-so special that you might be reluctant to try to repeat it. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says people tend to treat their memories of previous special experiences as assets to be protected.
"When asked if they would like to return to a place where they had a 'particularly special' versus 'pleasant but not particularly special' vacation or evening out, people were more interested in returning to the place where the initial event that they experienced was simply pleasant rather than truly special," write authors Gal Zauberman (University of Pennsylvania), Rebecca K. Ratner (University of Maryland), and B. Kyu Kim (University of Pennsylvania).
The researchers say that participants did not want to taint their memories of earlier special times. Unless researchers reassured the participants that the second experiences would be very similar to the initial experiences, they were apprehensive about repeating them.
The study also looked at the motivations behind acquiring souvenirs, known in the study as "memory pointers." For example, more participants said they would rather own a CD of their favorite band than a Mayan sculpture, unless they had taken a particularly meaningful trip to Mayan ruins. "Those considering a trip that was simply pleasant-for instance, with sunny weather and lots of time to read on the beach but no meaningful experiences-did not feel the need to acquire those items that they thought would help them remember the experience later."
"This desire to protect memories of meaningful experiences emerged even though participants thought that these experiences would be more memorable than mundane experiences would be," conclude the authors.
University of Chicago Press Journals
The study also looked at the motivations behind acquiring souvenirs, known in the study as "memory pointers." For example, more participants said they would rather own a CD of their favorite band than a Mayan sculpture, unless they had taken a particularly meaningful trip to Mayan ruins. "Those considering a trip that was simply pleasant-for instance, with sunny weather and lots of time to read on the beach but no meaningful experiences-did not feel the need to acquire those items that they thought would help them remember the experience later."
"This desire to protect memories of meaningful experiences emerged even though participants thought that these experiences would be more memorable than mundane experiences would be," conclude the authors.
University of Chicago Press Journals
Memories Current Events and Memories News RSSNew Down syndrome treatment suggested by Stanford/Packard study in mice
At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development.
Scientists decipher the formation of lasting memories
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered a mechanism that controls the brain's ability to create lasting memories. In experiments on genetically manipulated mice, they were able to switch on and off the animals' ability to form lasting memories by adding a substance to their drinking water.
Forget all about it: Traumatic memories can be erased
It is well known that fear memories are permanent. However, a recent paper in Science, evaluated by three Faculty Members for F1000, reports an extraordinary finding that supports the use of a drug to control recollections of traumatic incidents.
Theory about long and short-term memory questioned by UCL scientists
The long-held theory that our brains use different mechanisms for forming long-term and short-term memories has been challenged by new research from UCL, published today in PNAS.
Weizmann Institute scientists reveal how some aromas are bound up in our memories
From Proust's Madeleines to the overbearing food critic in the movie Ratatouille who's transported back to his childhood at the aroma of stew, artists have long been aware that some odors can spontaneously evoke strong memories.
This is your brain on fatty acids
Saturated fats have a deservedly bad reputation, but Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered that a sticky lipid occurring naturally at high levels in the brain may help us memorize grandma's recipe for cinnamon buns, as well as recall how, decades ago, she served them up steaming from the oven.
Being a standout has its benefits, study shows
Standing out in a crowd is better than blending in, at least if you're a paper wasp in a colony where fights between nest-mates determine social status.
Study pinpoints key mechanism in brain development, raising question about use of antiseizure drug
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a key molecular player in guiding the formation of synapses - the all-important connections between nerve cells - in the brain.
Police sketch artist evolves
Criminals are having a harder time hiding their faces, thanks to new software that helps witnesses recreate and recognize suspects using principles borrowed from the fields of optics and genetics.
Why one way of learning is better than another
A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (The Neuro) of McGill University reveals that different patterns of training and learning lead to different types of memory formation.
More Memories Current Events and Memories News Articles
 |
Sony 4 GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Flash Memory Card MSMT4G by Sony Ideal media for capturing video on most of all 2008 Handycam camcorder models |
 |
Memory: A Novel by Philippe Grimbert (Author) Twenty years after his mother and father jumped to their deaths from a balcony, Philippe Grimbert has written a gripping novel about the hidden memories that dominated their lives. A colossal bestseller in Europe, Memory is the story of a family haunted by the secret of their past: an illicit love affair, a lost child, and a devastating betrayal dating back to the Second World War. The day after my fifteenth birthday, I finally learned what I had always known.... Growing up in postwar Paris as the sickly only child of glamorous athletic parents, the narrator invents for himself a make-believe older brother, stronger and more brilliant than he can ever be. It is only when the boy begins talking to an old family friend that he comes to realize that his imaginary sibling had a real... |
 |
Original Memory by Hasbro Games For 1 or more players Can you remember what's hiding where' It's fun find matching pictures of your favorite things, two by two. Just flip over cards, two at a time, trying to make a match. If you find the same two cards, you keep them! Find the most pairs and you're the winner! Includes 72 picture cards and a plastic storage tray. |
 |
Sony 8 GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Flash Memory Card MSMT8G by Sony Ideal media for capturing video on most of all 2008 Handycam camcorder models |
 |
The Memory Box (Albert Whitman Concept Paperbacks) by Mary Bahr (Author), David Cunningham (Illustrator) Zach has fun helping his Gramps collect memories, photos, and other souvenirs for a "Memory Box" but finds out the next day why Gramps needed to save memories--he has Alzheimer's disease. |
 |
Sandisk 8GB SDHC Memory Card (SDSDB-8192, Bulk Package) by SanDisk The SDHC memory card is a highly secure stamp-sized flash memory card, which can be used in a variety of digital products: digital music players, cellular phones, handheld PCs (HPCs), digital cameras, digital video camcorders, smart phones, car navigation systems and electronic books, that follows the SD 2.00 specifications. The SDHC card has a security feature for protection of copyrighted data. |
 |
Memory Game - Disney Princess Edition by MILTON BRADLEY Brand new in factory sealed box |
 |
Grandma, Tell Me Your Memories by Kathy Lashier (Author) |
 |
Fujifilm 2 GB SD Flash Memory Card by FUJIFILM Fujifilm 2GB SD Memory Card |
 |
The Memory String by Eve Bunting (Author), Ted Rand (Illustrator) Each button on Laura"s memory string represents a piece of her family history. The buttons Laura cherishes the most belonged to her mother—a button from her prom dress, a white one off her wedding dress, and a single small button from the nightgown she was wearing on the day she died. When the string breaks, Laura"s new stepmother, Jane, is there to comfort Laura and search for a missing button, just as Laura"s mother would have done. But it"s not the same—Jane isn"t Mom. In Eve Bunting"s moving story, beautifully illustrated by Ted Rand, Laura discovers that a memory string is not just for remembering the past: it"s also for recording new memories. |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |