Psychology of Memory

Objectives

This curricular unit has as general goal the development and furthering of knowledge about the processes of human memory. More specifically, it intends to promote the development of competences in research on human memory within the cognitive, neuropsychology and neuroscience approaches. It promotes the understanding of the human memory and the relation between memory and the execution of mental tasks. By the end of this curricular unit the student should know the phenomena of learning, recalling and forgetting; they should know the normative and pathological processes of memory; they should be able to evaluate memory and to plan the promotion and rehabilitation of memory.

Program

This curricular unit is centered on the topic of human memory. It has as specific program contents:

 

1. Introduction to memory: definitions, types, theories and models; methods;
2. Memory and the brain: neuropsychology, brain imaging, electrophysiology and genetics;
3. Short-term memory;
4. Working memory;
5. Episodic memory and semantic memory;
6. Recalling;
7.  Forgetting;
8. Autobiographic memory;
9. Memory throughout life: memory in childhood and in old age;
10. Ocular witnesses and false memories;
11. Prospective memory;
12. When memory fails: amnesia, dementia, trauma and lesions;
13. Improving memory and intervention in memory loss.

Teaching Methodologies

The curricular unit is targeted at the resolution of problems and the development of project work. In the theoretical classes, the presentation phases are assisted by auxiliary projection methods, alternating with demonstrations and experimentation with phenomena. The theoretical-practical sessions are developed in small groups, about specific thematics, which aim at consolidating the program contents, and the corresponding conclusions are object of analysis and class-wide discussion at the end of the session. The learning activities also include the planification and implementation of a research project withing the thematic of the course.

The evaluation values the reflexive dimension of the self-learning processes, including mandatorily: 1) the continuous performance of students in tasks developed within class; 2) the written response of students to theoretical-practical questions discussed within each session; 3) the implementation of project work, in group; and 4) the results of two tests.

Bibliography

Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M. W., & Anderson, M. C. (2020). Memory. Psychology Press

 

Baddeley, A. D. (2004). The psychology of memory. The essential handbook of memory disorders for clinicians, 1-13.

 

Sternberg, R. J. (2000). Psicologia cognitiva. Piccin.

 

Eysenck, M. W., & Keane, M. T. (2017). Manual de Psicologia Cognitiva-7. Artmed Editora.

 

Baddeley, A. D. (2004). The psychology of memory. The essential handbook of memory disorders for clinicians

 

Loftus, E. F. (1996). The myth of repressed memory and the realities of science. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 3(4), 356-362.

 

Otgaar, H., Howe, M. L., Dodier, O., Lilienfeld, S. O., Loftus, E. F., Lynn, S. J., ... & Patihis, L. (2021). Belief in unconscious repressed memory persists. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(2), 454-460.

 

Wyer Jr, R. S., & Srull, T. K. (2014). Memory and cognition in its social context. Psychology Press.