Features of the formation of personal emotional memory

One of the most unusual manifestations of the functioning of the brain is memory, which can be short-term, episodic and emotional.

The latter represents the storage of emotions and feelings in the subconscious.

Impressionability will be a prerequisite for the formation of communicative character.

This is an essential factor in developing the ability to sympathize and be compassionate.

It is considered a fundamental element of excellence in certain professions, including teaching and acting.

Definition

Emotional memory – remembering, preserving and reproducing emotionally charged phenomena, memory for feelings.
It is acquired as a result of experienced sensations, both positive and negative, which are associated with events that occurred in the past. In the present, these memories, stored in emotional memory, can serve as a guide to a person's actions and interpretation of events. This is what explains the reluctance to buy any product in a store if the last time you found it not fresh enough, cloying or too sweet. Children's fears fuel their dislike of going to the dentist. A more dramatic example is that after experiencing a difficult breakup, a person becomes less amorous and trusting, closed.

But while emotional memory is important to most people as a means of recalling memories and as a learning experience, for an actor it is much more important

It is important for a stage performer to be able to isolate a pure emotion or experience in a memory, and “live” it – convey it during the stage action. Therefore, he needs a strong, stable and rich emotional memory

One of the first to become interested in this subject was the French psychologist T. Ribot, who studied the psychology of feelings and used the term “affective memory.” K. S. Stanislavsky, referring to the obsolescence of this concept, in “The Actor’s Work on Oneself,” uses the concept of “emotional memory.”

Emotional and figurative types of memory

Human emotional memory is closely interconnected with images. Due to the fact that emotions brighten experienced events and captured patterns, our brain is able to produce new images that did not exist. That is, to create art and poetry.

Images can be visual, olfactory and even gustatory. Emotional images are best remembered by actors and poets. It is for these people that emotional memory is always leading. And just like in any other profession, you need to be able to manage images.

How does it work?

An example would be a dog that was hit by a car. After a traumatic situation, she will never appear near the road again

The same thing happens to people, only unlike animals, such fear can lead not only to increased vigilance and caution, but even to reclusiveness. If a person often experienced negative emotions in childhood, and in particular fear, then in the future, most likely, he will become a fearful and distrustful individual.

It turns out that the state of emotional memory is akin to an indicator of our ability not only for self-preservation, but also for sympathy and compassion - empathy. Although negative emotions may not carry with them frightening consequences. For example, a man choked on a duck bone as a child; his parents were so scared that they took the boy to the hospital. Everything turned out okay, but now an adult can’t stand either duck or goose.

The consequences may be more significant. Thus, people who experienced violence or bullying in childhood often limit their communications, cannot realize themselves in life, and cannot experience a sense of compassion or concern for the misfortunes of others.

Emotions

Emotions are subjective reactions of a person to the influence of external and internal stimuli, reflecting in the form of experiences their personal significance for the subject and manifesting themselves in the form of pleasure or displeasure.

Speaking in biological language, emotions reflect the correspondence of any current need and the possibility of its fulfillment.

Needs:

• Vital – physiological (sleep, food) (see Fig. 1)

Rice. 1

• Social (career, skills) (see Fig. 2)

Rice. 2

• Creative (playing music, drawing)

Rice. 3

When it is impossible to achieve a need, negative emotions arise; when achieved, positive emotions arise.

Any emotion is accompanied by activation of the nervous system and the appearance of special biological substances in the blood (adrenaline - the “fear hormone”) (see Fig. 4).

Rice. 4

• Sayings about emotions:
• Hair stood on end from horror
• Fear made me sweat
• Goosebumps ran down my spine
• My heart sank with joy

The appearance of emotional reactions is associated with the work of the cerebral cortex and the work of the diencephalon (see Fig. 5).

Rice. 5

In addition to physiological manifestations, emotions are very clearly expressed in human facial expressions and gestures. Facial expressions and gestures convey a special meaning, a person’s mood and allow a better understanding of his emotional state.

Self-control is the ability to control oneself. It is acquired by a person in the process of his upbringing. And by the way, all highly cultured people know how to control their emotions, which is necessary for us if we want to be like that.

Components of Success

Studying many methods and even the entire methodology for improving memory does not always bring the desired effect, since it is important to take into account factors that negatively affect intelligence. The conditions for the development of ideal memory are as follows:

The conditions for the development of ideal memory are as follows:

Providing the brain with sufficient oxygen. Quitting smoking and alcohol, especially when you need to learn something. Full sleep. Proper nutrition - cheese, eggs, almonds, and nuts help with thought processes. Protein-rich and easily digestible foods are a prerequisite for fruitful mental efforts.

It is important to maintain a balance between hunger and a too full stomach.

As you can see, methods for developing memory are varied, but they all involve the active use of thinking, and the result can be obtained by repeating training exercises many times and following the rules of a healthy lifestyle.

Characteristic

Emotional memory helps to retain in a person’s mind everything that he experienced in a certain situation. Subsequently, this information becomes a signal to repeat what has been done again, if the emotions experienced from this action in the past were positive, or will stop us from performing this or that action or deed, if doing the same thing before, we experienced a negative one.

Pavel Petrovich Bolonsky, an outstanding teacher and philosopher of the last century, while studying psychology, came to the conclusion that a person perceives events that happen here and now much more clearly. But still, having found himself in a situation similar to what happened earlier, he immediately receives a signal from the past, which forces him to stop or, conversely, to continue doing what he started following the examples of the past. At the same time, the brain archives feelings such as surprise, suffering, and fear especially clearly. Moreover, this applies not only to people, but also to animals.

Development of emotional memory in a child

Emotional memory should be developed from early childhood. In childhood, you can develop a positive attitude towards others, a certain intellectual potential and self-confidence based on many positive memories. Here are some simple exercises that will help develop emotional memory in a child:

1. For a walk, choose a place where the child has not been before

While walking, draw his attention to the space around you (sounds, birds, insects, trees), while commenting on what is happening in a positive context and accompanying your story with affection, hugs, and all sorts of pleasant surprises. These memories will help the child to more easily endure unpleasant events in life in the future.

2. Exercise “Magic bag”. Its essence lies in the fact that the child is asked to remember the events that caused him discomfort, fears, and pain. These emotions are then mentally transformed into an object or objects, placed in a bag and tied tightly. At the same time, the child figuratively gets rid of the negativity that was taken from him and put in a bag.

3. Exercise “I am happy.” This is a group exercise that is performed as follows: a ball is thrown to the child. Having caught it, the child must tell about the event at which he was happy. After this, the child throws the ball to another participant in the game, who must also tell about his happy event.

To develop motor memory, you can invite your child to perform this exercise.

Let mom or dad, moving from one place in the room to another, take different poses in these places (there should be 4-5 such places and poses). Then the child must go around the same places and repeat the same poses, first in the order in which they were shown, and then in the reverse order. {Based on materials from I. V. Vachkov.)

Emotional memory stores impressions of relationships and contacts with others, warns against possible dangers or, conversely, pushes one to take action.

What is the development of emotional memory and intelligence in adults?

Adults should learn:

1. Awareness of one’s own emotions, the ability to name them.
   Four main types of emotions:
   • joy;

   sadness;

2. fear;
3. anger.

They manifest themselves differently in different people; their actual palette is wider.

4. Learn to control your behavior, observe yourself, listen to yourself, understand your reaction to a difficult situation, a difficult person.
5. Learn empathy - understanding the psychological state of another person: a family member, friend, colleague. Learn to see how they react to your words and behavior.
6. Learn to express emotions.

Sometimes it is difficult to admit to yourself your own feelings. However, the fact of voicing a problem helps to control it, and not just suffer. Your example will encourage another person to do the same. This is how calm, trusting interpersonal relationships are built.

Affective memory and emotional intelligence are sources of creative energy that open us to the world of music, painting, and theater.

Development of emotional memory in adults

It also makes sense for adults to develop the emotional component of their personality. This will definitely be useful both for professional activities and in personal life. Here are some proven techniques for developing emotional memory in adults:

1. Make it a rule to keep a diary. This is a very good way to develop emotional memory. Do it regularly. Write down your feelings, emotions, thoughts in a diary. By re-reading it after a certain time, you can feel your feelings again, analyze them and your actions.

2. Practice meditation. To perform the technique, you need to mentally transport yourself to a certain moment in the past when you experienced strong emotions, and try to feel them again. For example, think back to your first date.

3. Immerse yourself in the sensations you previously experienced. To do this, sit comfortably on a chair or sofa, close your eyes and imagine a process that causes pleasant sensations. For example, imagine how you feast on your favorite dish, while trying to feel its taste and aroma.

4. Analyze the feelings arising in your subconscious

Focus your attention on various, even minor events, and try to understand how you feel when they happen and why. During the analysis process, try to separate feelings and emotions

5. Bibliotherapy. This is the most popular technique for creating a positive emotional state by reading a properly selected book. While reading a work of fiction, you are immersed in the events described and experience the feelings and emotions of the characters.

Good luck to you in self-knowledge and self-development. We strive to ensure that the online Bitraynik simulators contribute to the development of your memory.

Photo: hydra arts

For children and adults

It is useful to develop affective memory from childhood, forming positive memories in the child and increasing intellectual potential, including emotional intelligence. But even in adulthood, not all is lost: you can practice certain exercises. They will help you increase productivity in business, improve relationships with loved ones and become more successful in your career.

For children:

Exploring the world around you while walking. When helping your child get acquainted with the outside world, tell him interesting facts, involve him in play, accompanying it with caring, touching, and affection. Dealing with unpleasant memories. Every child has faced negative situations. Some people discuss them with their parents, while others try to bury them as deeply as possible, which can cause severe psychological trauma at an unexpected moment. Discuss with your child his worries, fears, pain and turn it into a kind of exercise. Assign each negative situation the image of an object and mentally put this object in a box. This helps to free yourself from negativity, so it will not affect the child’s subconscious from the inside. "I'm fine". This is a group exercise that can be done as a family and will benefit everyone. Take the ball and throw it to each other in turns. Each person caught must tell a situation when he was happy, or in what area he was doing well

It is important to be sincere with yourself.

For adults:

• Keep a diary. We have a lot of things to do and worries, so details are often crowded out of our memory, and positive ones in the first place. Regularly write down the pleasant moments that happened to you during the day, your feelings and thoughts about this. Re-read your diary from time to time, this will not only help you return to a positive state, but also promote deep self-analysis.
• Meditate. To do this, it is not necessary to master any specific techniques; it is enough to find a quiet place, sit comfortably and immerse yourself in your own memories. Mentally transport yourself to the situation that gives you pleasant sensations, relive it again. With a deeper immersion in the practice of meditation, you will be able to analyze your current feelings, emotions, and experiences.
• Read positive literature. A well-written book does not just show some events, it makes us experience their feelings and emotions along with the characters.

To work more deeply with your own emotions and the states they cause, we have created a course on developing critical thinking. Once you master this type of thinking, you will be able to clearly track what influenced your decisions and how. Develop with Vikium!

Memory: phenomena, functions and types. Involuntary and voluntary memory.

Memory: phenomena, functions and types. Involuntary and voluntary memory.

Definition of memory

In the most general sense, the word “memory” applies not only to humans and not even only to living organisms. Thus, we can talk about the preservation and transmission of information in relation to DNA molecules, about imprinting – about photographic film and any physical objects that have experienced the influence of another object and, thus, bear its trace. Leontyev A.N. calls all this mnemonic properties, phenomena.

The specific psychological definition of memory will depend on the theoretical approach we follow. For example, within the framework of cognitive psychology, memory is defined as:

Memory is a set of processes of encoding, storing and decoding information.

Nurkova V.V. offers the following general psychological definition of memory, which is closer to the activity approach:

Memory is the mental process of imprinting, preserving, reproducing and losing past experience, which makes it possible to use it in activity and/or restore it in the sphere of consciousness.

The situation is similar with the definition of functions, classes and types of memory. This will depend a) on the theoretical platform b) on the goals of the study and classification. The classifications will be given in detail below. However, we can identify a number of memory functions that will persist regardless of the theoretical framework within which the category of memory is considered. These are: storing, storing, forgetting and retrieving (using) information/past experience.

The classification of memory functions according to S.L. is widely known. Rubinstein. For him, “mnemonic functions” are the physiological substrate of memory, the general psychophysiological basis of diverse memory processes. Memory itself is a psychological process, inseparable and working in unity with other psychological processes, such as thinking, will, and so on.

Memory functions according to Rubinstein:

1. acquisition, preservation, use of individual experience;

2. acquisition, preservation, use and transfer of social experience;

3. maintaining the unity and identity of the individual.

(In relation to the multicomponent memory model: 1 – procedural memory; 2 – semantic memory; 3 – episodic and autobiographical memory)

The phenomenology of memory is extremely extensive and heterogeneous. Among other things, this includes and is meaningfully disclosed (as examples and demonstration of one’s knowledge) according to desire, knowledge and time:

Various cases of "unusual memory".[1] Eidetism (for example, “A Little Book of Great Memory” by Luria, the case of Shereshevsky). Flashbulb memories (flashbulb memories, individual vividly remembered scenes). False and distorted memories (confabulations - i.e. completing a memory with new elements; contamination - i.e. mixing up fragments of different memories; implantation - i.e. inducing the construction of new memories in autobiographical memory, studies by Loftus, Nurkova; etc.) . Instant life review (“my whole life flew before my eyes”, research within the framework of ASC (altered states of consciousness), Nurkova). All phenomena and syndromes of memory pathogenesis (neuropsychology, clinical psychology): various amnesias - retrograde and anterograde, forgetting of autobiographical information (up to loss of identity), paramnesia (confabulation, cryptomnesia, deja vu), etc. Examples of building memory management (memory nodules) ; mnemonics.

Classifications of types of memory

It is clear that the phenomenon of memory is a heterogeneous formation (process, function). Obviously, “remember” can mean completely different things, for example: 1) remember a fact, 2) remember how something is done, 3) remember an event

From the history of the issue: French philosopher of the 19th century. M. de Biran postulated the existence of three types of memory: mechanical, sensory and representative. Rote memory included motor and speech skills and operated primarily at an unconscious level; sensory memory retained affective states, emotions and fleeting images; the use of representational memory involved consciously recalling past thoughts and events.

F. Gall classified memory types according to content characteristics (for example, musical memory, mathematical memory, geographical memory, etc.).

Traditionally, types of memory are divided according to the material that is to be memorized. There are motor (memory for movement), affective (memory for emotions), visual-figurative (memory for images) and verbal-logical (memory for speech statements and thoughts) memory (Blonsky’s genetic classification).

according to the time of storage of information (cognitive models)
is also accepted : in this case, instantaneous, short-term and long-term memory are distinguished.
Based on the degree of meaningfulness of the memorized material, a distinction is made between mechanical and semantic memory. Example: Ebbinghaus's experiments on the material of nonsense syllables or on the material of poetry.
According to the criterion of accessibility of memories at a conscious level, explicit and implicit memory are divided. Explicit memory is a type of memory that involves the voluntary and conscious updating of recorded experience. Implicit memory is a type of memory that does not include voluntary and conscious actualization of experience, the presence of which in memory can be detected by indirect methods. Example: Broadbendt and Berry's Sugar Factory Experiment.

In accordance with the place the mnemonic component occupies in the structure of activity , voluntary and involuntary memory are distinguished. Voluntary memory occurs if there is a conscious task to remember (remember, forget). Involuntary memory occurs if memorization (remembering, forgetting) turns out to be an additional product of activity. Example: Istomina’s study.

Introduction

During the development of psychological science, each direction, approach or school gave its own definition of the category of memory. Accordingly, when answering this question, it is minimally necessary to characterize memory from the point of view of the main schools in the history of psychology (psychology of consciousness, behaviorism and neobehaviorism, Gestalt psychology, cognitive psychology, domestic psychology: cultural-historical psychology, the activity approach of the Leontief school, “subjective Rubinstein's activity approach). The main content of the answer will, of course, be cognitive models.

Here you can write about various definitions of memory and what memory is in a general sense, see question 29. Memory: phenomena, functions and types. Involuntary and voluntary memory.

Associationism: Ebbinghaus

Ebbinghaus, realizing that memory is something very complex, divided two forms of memory: recollection and reproduction. The first is true memory, as it is. The second is the formal side of this process, a narrower phenomenon. Ebbinghaus began studying reproduction. G. Ebbinhaus created a catalog consisting of 2,300 meaningless three-letter syllables (three-letter nouns are extremely rare in German).

Memory is a mechanically folded product of association. Associations are an alleged mental connection between phenomena of consciousness and behavior, which is formed subject to their proximity in space or time, as well as due to their similarity and contrast. Ebbinghaus studied the formation of associations, their fixation and destruction. Ebbinghaus developed:

• Method of retained members of a series: in order to remember, it is necessary to repeat the series many times - in this case, % of the memorized is considered;
• Saving method: when a subject memorizes (by repeated repetition) some material, the percentage that he reproduced is counted. After a pause, repeated memorization occurs, the difference between the 1st and 2nd memorization is calculated and the % savings are obtained (subtract the 1st result from the 2nd or vice versa - it doesn’t matter);
• Memorization method: “read - repeat” until the 1st correct reproduction;
• Guessing method: close to the hint method, when a person memorizes, but asks for the beginning of a series;
• Correction method: when memorizing, hints are used;
• Recognition method: material learned in some way is located among unfamiliar material and it is necessary to recognize it. It turns out that the material reproduced in this way is much larger in volume than the actively reproduced memory volume.

Ebbinghaus discovered:

• The law of total time: for each repetition done the day before, when completing learning the next day, you save about a third of the time required for one repetition.
• The law of accumulation and distribution of repetitions (Jost's law): for a fixed number of repetitions, repetitions distributed over time are more effective than simultaneous repetitions.

Repetition can give a lot

With thoughtful distribution;

And trying too hard,

You'll get it all wrong

And you won’t remember without a doubt.

• Positional (edge) effect when memorizing elements located in a row, the worst remembering elements are those slightly shifted from the center to the end of the row. To simplify a little: the beginning and the end are best remembered.[2]

• A little detail: meaningless syllables are much more difficult to remember than poems.

Kurt Lewin's field theory

The central concept of this theory is the concept of “field”. The state of the field is defined as the result of all influences and factors involved in its structuring. The main “energy” component of the field is actual needs, therefore the hypothesis: the memory that is related to the goal realized by a person in a given situation is more easily reproduced. Facts confirming the hypothesis:

• The effect of unfinished action (Zeigarnik effect).
  Unfinished (aborted) tasks are remembered almost twice as much as completed ones.[3]
• Research Birenbaum G.V.
• Intention remains as long as it is included in a holistic system of action. It is forgotten when this integrity is violated.[4]
• The effect of replacement execution.
  Partial dilution of target tension can lead to the fact that the strength of the need tension will be insufficient to maintain the intention to perform an action.[5]

Freud's psychoanalysis

The special significance of Freud's theory in the context of memory is that he pointed out the possible functional significance of forgetting for the psyche of the subject, i.e. psychoanalytic interpretation allows us to see that forgetting something is not “just an annoying mistake”, a “breakdown” of the mental apparatus, but an active unconscious action that has its own specific mechanisms and laws.

Forgetting (i.e. repression of the content of consciousness, the work of psychological defense mechanisms), which has a motivationally determined nature, occurs mainly for two reasons:

1. The memory itself carries with it a traumatic experience.
2. The content of the memory is neutral in itself, but is associatively connected with other, traumatic content.

An example about Freud himself: why he forgot three times to buy his favorite type of paper (in German: fliesspapier) at a stationery store. As a result of the analysis, he came to the conclusion that this word was also consonant with the surname of a person unpleasant to him (Dr. Fliess), and therefore was repressed and forgotten.

Pierre Janet

According to the theory of P. Janet, memory is a social act (memory-story is always social). Memory appears only when a complete and coherent story appears. The order to “remember” something first, according to Janet, comes from another person, and then the person gives this order to “remember” (as well as preserve and reproduce something) to himself. Narrative memory must be distinguished from reminiscence memory. Reminiscence is a precise, automatic construction of actions (it disrupts the continuity of the flow of life; it is non-adaptive, i.e. it does not change over time; it is not social, i.e. it is performed in the absence of other people). Therefore, conditionally (strictly speaking, reminiscence memory is not memory at all, in the sense of a social act) there are 2 types of “memory”:

1. reminiscence. Example: the case of Irene. She repeated the actions that she performed during her father’s illness.
2. memory-story. Example: a sentry is on duty. The Sentinel needs to report an impending threat to his tribe.

Activity approach

Theory

Activity, in contrast to reaction, is the process of a person’s active relationship to reality. Activity includes three hierarchically organized structural units: activity, action, operation. An activity is determined by a motive, an action by a goal, and an operation by the specific conditions of its occurrence. In the phenomenal plane, only action can be observed (the answer to the question: what exactly is a person doing at the moment?), and the activity, which includes this or that observed action, has to be reconstructed based on knowledge about the motives of this person.

Research

See question 29. Memory: phenomena, functions and types. Involuntary and voluntary memory. –

there are studies by Smirnov, Zinchenko, Istomina.

Cognitive approach

See question 32. Multicomponent memory model. Everything, everything, everything is there.

Memory development

Response Plan:

1. Phylo- and socioogenesis (Blonsky, Janet, Vygotsky)

2. Ontogenesis (Vygotsky, Leontiev, Istomina)

3. Pathogenesis (Ribault, Korsakov)

4. Actualgenesis (Cognitive theories of memory, activity approach, autobiographical memory)

Introduction

The development (genesis) of memory (like any other mental function or phenomenon) can be viewed from several angles. Phylogeny of memory is a consideration of the development of what we can call memory, i.e. what preserves (forgets), stores and reproduces, in a historical perspective, from animals to humans. Sociogenesis is the development of memory as a social phenomenon, i.e. development of memory within the framework of cultural and social history. Ontogenesis is how memory develops in the life of one individual, what stages it goes through, and how it changes with age. Pathogenesis is a pathological development of memory, which can be considered as a process reverse to development, i.e. simply a mechanical destruction of what exists, but can be considered as development, but proceeding in a qualitatively different way (the view of the LSV). Finally, actual genesis is how the memory process occurs here and now, in the act of memorization, in the act of reproduction, etc., what patterns and laws we can discover regarding the real functioning of memory.

Phylo- and sociogenesis

It is quite difficult to separate these two concepts, because sociogenesis inexorably enters phylogeny as a new stage in the development of mental function in the conditions of a cultural and historical community.

Ontogenesis of memory

Of course, at this same point it is necessary to reveal the development of memory according to the cultural-historical concept of L.S. Vygotsky. To do this, you need to take question 30: LSV and Leontiev’s parallelogram of development. From question 29: Istomina’s experiment, which shows the development of memory in childhood.

It is important to understand that two lines of development (natural and higher mental functions) cannot be divorced from the phylogenetic and sociogenetic plans of consideration, because animals also have natural functions, and the path of mastering memory as HMF is a whole separate story (see previous page). paragraph). But it is probably more convenient to focus on an ontogenetic consideration.

Pathogenesis of memory

Amnesia is any loss of memory in its scale and course that significantly exceeds ordinary forgetting. Retrograde amnesia is the loss of memories of events that occurred before the onset of the disease . Anterograde amnesia is a loss of memory of events that occurred after the restoration of consciousness.

post-hypnotic and infantile amnesias (we don’t remember anything that happened before we were 2-3 years old) - psychoanalysts talk a lot about this.

Classification of amnesia (Ribot):

1. Temporary amnesia. They begin unexpectedly and end unexpectedly (for example, with epilepsy).

2. Periodic amnesia. Forgetting some periods of life, and sometimes everything that a person can do.

3. Progressive amnesia. Progressive amnesia is a sequential loss of deeper and deeper layers of memory as a result of a progressive organic disease (cerebral atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Pick's disease, senile dementia, etc.).

Ribot's law (the law of reverse development of memory): first, the ability to memorize decreases (hypomnesia), then recent events are forgotten, and later the reproduction of long-ago events is disrupted. This leads to the loss of scientific, abstract knowledge. Last but not least, emotional impressions and practical automated skills are lost. As the surface layers of memory are destroyed, patients often experience a revival of childhood and youth memories.

Korsakoff's syndrome. Neurological status: paralysis of the limbs, pain, sensitivity disorders. Mental status: short-term memory disorder. Features (according to Korsakov):

· Only short-term memory suffers. All skills and abilities (for example, playing cards) are intact.

· Memory is limited to what happened before the illness (the patient very accurately describes his journey, but forgets that he has already repeated this story 10 times).

· Reinforced combinations (proverbs, sayings, etc.) are easily reproduced and are often stereotypically repeated.

· Thinking narrows.

· Severe abulia (disorder of the will) - purely physiological needs, no interests.

· Memory traces remain. The main problem is reproducing these traces, “pulling” them out of memory.

Actual genesis of memory

Actualgenesis is how the memory process unfolds here and now. Here we can talk about the following:

1. Cognitive theories are all in a row: structural (SRàKPàDP) and level processing See cognitive theories in question 32.

2. In connection with the concept of level processing, we can also recall Zinchenko’s experiments, on the basis of which this theory was developed (ibid. + question 29. Voluntary and involuntary memory)

3. We can also talk about the activity-based mediation of memory (i.e., the real process of memory develops within the framework of activity, which includes mnemonic activity, what place does it occupy in the structure of activity) - question 29

4. Finally, you can talk about studies of autobiographical memory, if you know. A little about this.

Autobiographical memory is a subsystem that operates with memories of personally significant events and states. Its functioning is accompanied by a special state of autonoesis and serves as the basis for experiencing oneself as a unique, time-extended, self-identical subject.

Echoic memory

Information storage time: 2-3 seconds. According to F. Craik and M. Kirsner, despite the fact that echoic memory about the content of a message fades in about 3 s, information about voice intonation is retained after 8 s. Echoic memory was empirically discovered in the experiments of N. Morey.[8]

Differences in the properties of iconic and echoic memory lead to the so-called. modality effects. For example, the edge effect is much stronger if the material is presented in auditory form than if it is presented in visual form.

DP: Declarative memory

Declarative memory can be divided into at least two substructures

1. Semantic memory (M.R. Quillian) is a type of memory that reflects a generalized idea of ​​the world. Quillian proposed that semantic memory is organized according to the principle of hierarchical semantic networks.

• To illustrate this hypothesis, a series of reaction time experiments were conducted in which subjects were asked to evaluate the truth of statements such as “canaries can sing,” “canaries have feathers,” and “canaries have skin.” The reaction time was longer in the second and even longer in the third case. Quillian interpreted the results as a consequence of the fact that in the first case the property of “singing” lies in the category “canary” itself, in the second case it is necessary to go to the level of “bird” and then deduce This is a canary-like property. In the third case, it is necessary to go through one more node: birds-animals have skin.
• Forgetting in semantic memory: Brown and McNeill's "tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon" experiment: Subjects were presented with definitions of words and asked to name the words. In this case, sometimes a state of “twirling on the tongue” arose, but the subject could not name it. This state was characterized by the fact that the subject could know how many syllables there are in a word, where the stress is, what letter it begins with, which words are the same in meaning and which are not suitable. Consequently, there was a recall of clan affiliation.
• Additionally: here we can also say about the types of concepts according to LSV (syncret, complex, pseudo-concept, concept), they say, domestic psychology is also not stupid.
• Here we can say that one of the ways to describe and represent semantic memory is the method of semantic spaces (Osgood, Kelly, Petrenko)

• Episodic memory (Tulving). According to E. Tulvinry, procedural memory corresponds to anoetic consciousness (unconscious regulation), semantic memory corresponds to noetic consciousness “I know”), and episodic memory corresponds to autonoetic consciousness “I remember”). Episodic memory, according to E. Tulvinry, is an evolutionarily late, slightly vulnerable memory system, oriented to the past, which is a unique property of the human psyche. Episodic memory allows you to “travel into the past” and re-experience events that happened previously. Episodic memory is accompanied by a special “autonoetic” state of consciousness. The functioning of episodic memory is closely related to the functioning of procedural and semantic memory.
• Episodic memory can be divided into retrospective (memory of the past) and prospective (memory of the future) memory.
• Additionally: here we can talk about autobiographical memory (highlighted by J. Robins, in 1976), which is not the same, but which is good to at least mention. AP is a subsystem that operates with memories of personally significant events and states. Its functioning is accompanied by a special state of autonoesis and serves as the basis for experiencing oneself as a unique, time-extended, self-identical subject.

Opposition to the structural approach:

Introduction

What is learning ? This is primarily procedural knowledge, i.e. knowledge of how to perform a particular action.

Learning is based on various mechanisms. According to the degree of activity of the organism in the learning process, reactive learning , in which the body involuntarily reacts to external influences, and operant learning , in which the body itself initiates active interaction with the environment. Based on the emphasis on changes in external behavior or in the internal picture of the world, behavioral and cognitive learning can be distinguished .

A skill is an action or sequence of actions that is formed through repetition and, as a result, becomes effortless and does not require conscious control. Skills are motor, perceptual and intellectual

.

A skill is a complex type of activity mastered by a subject, which is provided by knowledge and skills. Skill is the ability to perform an action not only in familiar conditions, but also in new ones.

of imprinting takes place - the irreversible imprinting of certain properties of the environment, in relation to which the behavior that occurs at the first meeting with them unfolds.

One of the key researchers of this mechanism was Konrad Lorenz, he proved that the imprinting mechanism works at a strictly defined time, the so-called.
sensitive period [13]. People also have something similar to this mechanism: bonding , i.e.
the emergence of an emotional connection between parents and newborns. Theory N.A. Bernstein

The integrative theory of the formation of motor skills was developed by the outstanding Russian physiologist Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bernstein (1896 1966). N.A. Bernstein’s concept is based on a number of fundamental principles of learning:

1. Exercise principle : repetition improves performance

2. The principle of “repetition without repetition” : each action is unique and is not a blind copy of the previous one, but its development

3. Each new skill is a motor task that the body solves with the help of all available means, taking into account external and internal circumstances

Stages of skill building according to Bernstein

1. Identification of the semantic structure of the action and the motor composition of the action (formation of the goal of the action and the external form of the action). The man decided that he needed to swim and watched how others did it.

2. Identification and description of sensory corrections (“probing” the movement, studying the sensory basis of the action). The concept of a reflex ring (as opposed to a reflex arc) is used here Now the man splashes onto the bank and tests the water for movement.

On this occasion, NAB himself: “The secret of mastering movement lies not in any special body movements, but in a special kind of sensations.
They cannot be shown, but only experienced.” This same stage refutes the theory of “identical components” of behaviorists. It lies in the fact that the transfer of skills is carried out through learned movements. Counterexample: a person knows how to saw a log, but this will not help him play the violin (just like vice versa), but a speed skater can easily learn to ride a bicycle and vice versa.
What's the matter? The fact is that what is important is not the action in its external form, but the sensory corrections that provide it. So the transfer is better the closer the systems of sensory corrections are to any number of seemingly different actions.

3. Automation of a motor skill. Now the man is just floating

– sensory corrections go to the unconscious level, i.e. the leading level of movement increases.

4. Triggering of background corrections. Integration of movements. A person breaks down to lower levels less and less often, movement is built more and more smoothly, different levels of movement synchronize their work.

5. Standardization of skill. Outwardly, each movement is more and more similar to the previous one.

6.

Skill stabilization.
The skill is now resistant to interference and is performed automatically. A person can swim around suddenly emerging scuba divers without disturbing the movement, in addition, he can now talk on the phone at the same time.
Of course, in any unclear situation, you can write the levels of movement construction:

Level	Name	Level specifics	Example
A	Tone level	Determines the tone of the muscles of the trunk and neck (posture), and is also responsible for the excitability of the muscles of the limbs	The man doesn't fall
B	Synergy level	Responsible for the joint, coordinated work of several muscle groups	A person can clap their hands with their eyes closed
C	Space level	Provides targeted movements in space: locomotion, gymnastic movements, precise, targeted movements of the arms and other organs, overcoming resistance, throwing and striking movements, imitative movements	A person can take some object from a shelf
D	Action level	Ensures the execution of substantive actions	A person can take a hat off a hook (and take it exactly like a hat, without denting it, i.e. taking not an object, but a specific object) Another example: a person eats with Chinese chopsticks
E	Symbolic level	Ensures the implementation of symbolic movements: any rituals are not just actions, but actions performed in a certain way that have a communicative, religious function and have a special meaning	Now a person eats with Chinese chopsticks according to all the rules of decency of eating food with Chinese chopsticks

[1] “Lucius Scipio remembered the names of all the inhabitants of Rome; Cyrus knew the names of all the soldiers in his army (and there were 35 thousand of them); Mithridates of Pontus spoke the languages ​​of all 22 peoples living in his possessions; Cineas could repeat the names of all the senators; the Florentine Malebechi, Caesar Borgia’s librarian, remembered the names and exact location of 80 thousand manuscripts in his master’s library,” etc.

[2] The results were obtained using the anticipation method: it is necessary to reproduce a number of elements in the same order as they were presented. Every mistake that subjects make leads to an edit. The average number of corrections per element shows the difficulty of learning it.

[3] The subjects were given 22 tasks that were required to be completed as quickly and as best as possible. The tasks were extremely diverse, they included both manual work (modeling, gluing models, stringing beads), and intellectual tasks (puzzles, charades), as well as creative tasks (composing a poem). At the moment of the subjects’ greatest involvement in the task, when they were already “a hair’s breadth” from the final result, some of the tasks were interrupted by the experimenter. The experimenter literally “teared out” the unfinished task and slipped in the next one with the words: “Now do this!” After completing the experimental series, subjects were suddenly asked which of the tasks they remembered.

[4] Subjects were given a series of mathematical problems, each of which was printed on a separate sheet of paper. As they solved the problems, the subjects, following the instructions, had to put their signature at the bottom of each sheet. After completing several tasks, a pause was made, which was filled with distracting tasks, then the subjects continued the interrupted work. Most of the subjects, after a break, forgot to sign the first two sheets with solved tasks, but then they “remembered” their “obligation” and started signing the sheets again.

[5] Found on the same material, in the monogram condition: in the event that before signing, it was necessary to put a monogram (stylized signature), the subjects forgot to sign.

[6] Subjects were invited to conduct research in the laboratory. The experiment was carried out while the subjects were sitting on a bench in the corridor and waiting for the experiment: representatives of one group of subjects heard a discussion of computer problems behind the door, then the door opened, a man came out with some kind of device in his hands, said hello and left. Another group heard the sound of a struggle, screams and groans coming from behind the door, after which the door swung open and a man with a bloody knife came out. Result: the group that experienced stress could reproduce significantly fewer details of the event and made mistakes when identifying the person they saw, since their attention was completely focused.

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Development methods

Developing emotional memory is easy

It is important to do this from early childhood, to form in the child a positive outlook on the world around him, because this way he will not only become kinder, but will also feel more confident. Remember, the more good memories a person has, the more successful his life is.

Here is a small list of tips that will definitely help your baby in the future.

Be more affectionate with your child, and not only when there is something to praise him for, but constantly. Even when you're just walking

Draw his attention to beautiful things, talk about nature, birds, animals only in a positive way. Believe me, if you flinch every time a dog appears and say that it is scary, your child will most likely become afraid, not only of yard dogs, but also of other animals.

Delight your child more often with kisses, hugs, and at least give small pleasant gifts

Remember that bad things are remembered better, which means that you need to help fill emotional memory with positive memories not in quality, but in quantity.

If your child is upset about something, try to throw it away or erase this feeling from his memory. Figure out how you can distract him. Use a trick. For example, make your child believe that his failure is just an unnecessary piece of paper that can be easily thrown away. At the same time, be sure to show him this piece of paper, tear it up together and throw it away. By the way, this trick also works with adults.

Another similar way to get rid of negativity. Transfer your or your child’s experiences to some unnecessary object or even several objects, wrap it or them in an unnecessary bag and take it to the trash can.

Play a ball game. It reminds us of the well-known “Edible – inedible”. Participants throw a ball to each other in a circle. The one who caught him must tell the others about some event that brought him joy. Thus, he himself “cleanses” his emotional memory, and sets others up for a positive wave.

But if in childhood you still did not receive enough positive emotions, then fill your head with them yourself. Meditation is a method that has been tested for centuries. When you feel like “the world is unfair to you,” close your eyes and remember a good moment in your life. The first kiss, for example.

Another way to meditate: close your eyes and be transported from the gray autumn to the warm sea, even if you haven’t been there for a long time and won’t be going there for a long time. Remember or even invent the smell and color of the wave, you yourself will not notice how you will soon feel the breath of the sea breeze.

Read more. By immersing yourself in someone else's story, be it the story of a fictional character or a famous person, you will involuntarily forget about your worries and troubles.

Physiological basis of memory processes

Physiological mechanisms of memory are studied in physiology, psychology, and biochemistry. Speaking about memory mechanisms, we are talking about certain processes necessary for memorizing information and its further reproduction. The information that a person tries to remember goes through a certain process, which includes brain mechanisms: traces remain in the cerebral cortex of our brain after the excitation process. They are the ones who make it possible for associative connections to arise, even in the absence of a stimulus.

These mechanisms are the basis of the main memory processes in psychology, which include:

• memorization
• preservation,
• playback
• forgetting information.

Memorization is a memory process that ensures the consolidation of new material. It can be voluntary and involuntary, mechanical and semantic, direct and indirect.

Retention is a process that ensures retention of memorization results for a long time. It is accomplished with the help of mental operations of analysis, synthesis, classification, and generalization. The more important the memorized material is for a person, the better the process of its preservation occurs.

Reproduction is a process that occurs in three stages. At the first stage, object recognition occurs when past stored experience is compared with the current image. At the second stage, recollection occurs - an active search and extraction of the necessary material from long-term memory. The third stage includes a person’s reproduction of an emotionally-filled image, when a complete determination of the object’s image is carried out according to all parameters.

Forgetting is a memory process that leads to a loss of clarity and a decrease in the amount of material stored in long-term memory. However, sometimes it can no longer be reproduced. Forgetting has a positive function - it removes the burden of information, preventing memory overload. Types of human memory:

Perception and attention

The process of cognition of the surrounding world begins with the analysis of information that comes from sensory systems and the formation of holistic images of objects and phenomena. This initial stage of cognition is called perception.

Purposeful perception is carried out with the help of attention.

Attention is a factor that guides the selection of information for perception. From the point of view of physiologists, attention is a process as a result of which information has access to the mechanisms of memory and movement and, accordingly, to consciousness. Attention is characterized by volume, speed of switching and stability; it can be increased by active actions or volitional efforts.

Attention can be involuntary, when memorization occurs effortlessly, as if by itself, and voluntary - a person sets a goal for himself, what needs to be remembered, makes volitional efforts, and uses special techniques. Information that is perceived is transferred to memory.

Emotional (affective) memory

Emotional memory is conscious or unconscious memories associated with strong experiences. They carry a strong emotional connotation: joy, sadness, anger, delight. This type of memory brings events from the past back to the present and revives them. Personal life experience accumulates.

Therefore, negative experiences of the past have a detrimental effect on the present. The peculiarity of emotionally charged memory is that feelings are remembered more easily and quickly than events associated with it.

Life is marked by strong experiences, sad, even tragic incidents, but also rays of happiness. Everything that a person lives and remembers shapes his personality.

Emotional (or affective) memory connects the present with the past and future, builds a person’s idea of ​​himself and the world around him. This aspect of the human subconscious is the key to the development of a socialized personality. A person makes important life decisions based on his inner state.

Without remembering emotions and feelings, a person cannot learn from his own mistakes.

For a long time, emotions were seen as something negative, something private, something to be hidden from others. In the 90s, emotions began to be studied. Moreover, emotional intelligence is considered as the core of personal development, the basis for successful entry into society.

Reviews and comments

You can share your experience and thoughts on the topic of the article by leaving a comment below.

We also recommend reading:

• Storytelling
• How to train your memory
• Involuntary memorization: why unnecessary information is remembered, but necessary information flies out of the head
• Types of memory and their features
• Cognitive sphere of personality
• Cognitive load theory
• Two important laws of memory
• The effect of misinformation
• The main ideas of Konstantin Stanislavsky
• Exercises for memory development in preschoolers
• Mental processes: types and brief description

Key words:1Mnemonics

Emotional memory in acting

Emotional memory is extremely necessary in any form of creativity and art, especially for actors who, while playing, experience repeated feelings. They achieve truthfulness only if they are able to feel familiar sensations from life experience on stage.

K. S. Stanislavsky wrote: “Since you are able to turn pale and blush at the mere memory of what you have experienced, since you are afraid to think about a misfortune experienced long ago, you have a memory for feelings, or emotional memory.”

He taught to remember experienced feelings, worries, thoughts again, based on past experience. In his opinion, this quality should be cultivated not only by actors, but also by directors. The former need emotional memory in order to be able, in the proposed stage circumstances, to convey feelings similar to those experienced earlier. The second is to determine the level of naturalness of the production.

Emotional memory, like ordinary memory, is not perfect. Over time, everything unnecessary: ​​the setting, minor details, accompanying impressions are erased from memory, and only emotion remains. It also happens differently - the experienced feeling is so strong and leads to such a shock or strong impression that the moment, atmosphere, event itself is remembered very well, but the emotional background is poorly remembered due to the excess and confusion of experiences

Therefore, it is important for an actor to learn to evoke emotions at will that are not related to certain events in his life, in other words - in its pure form

For people in this profession, a strong and well-developed emotional memory is very important. They need to constantly replenish it with material from life perceptions obtained from various sources. At the same time, K. S. Stanislavsky is sure that it is necessary not only to experience this or that emotion, but also to understand its meaning, not only to study this “life, but also to directly come into contact with it in all its manifestations; when, where and as soon as possible." But how to achieve this?

In theater institutes, memory exercises are often based on sketch tasks in which you need to remember in detail days of strong emotions. This could be, for example, a prom or a first date. After completing the exercise, a discussion takes place to find out what motivated the student’s actions in conveying feelings: previous experiences, stories from others, a film watched on this topic.

To develop your emotional memory, it is also recommended to keep a diary. You need to write down in it, first of all, those events that find an emotional response in you. This should be done in as much detail as possible, trying to describe the feelings as if you were experiencing them again. It is recommended to re-read the diary once a month.

Today, a technique called bibliotherapy is gaining popularity. This is a new promising technology for correcting the emotional state, where the means of achieving the desired emotional mood is a correctly selected book. “By identifying ourselves with the characters of a work of art, their emotional experiences, we empathize and thereby achieve an emotional response. This helps you realize your emotions, understand their reasons...”, write E. Khlevnaya and L. Yuzhaninova, authors of the book “Where is your magic button? How to develop emotional intelligence."

Find many other exercises useful for beginning actors on our website.

The influence of emotions on memory

Of all cognitive processes, the influence of emotions on memory seems to have been studied most thoroughly. Firstly, the authors were interested in the features of memorizing emotionally charged information. Secondly, the connection between a person’s emotional state and mnemonic processes was studied.

It is well known that emotionally charged information is better remembered. This observation is the basis for mnemonics, which some teachers resort to in order to achieve better memorization by students of certain educational material. It is enough to cause a strong emotional reaction (for example, make the class burst out laughing) and we can confidently say that at the next lesson, everyone present in the class will remember what was discussed at that moment.

A.A. Smirnov [Smirnov, 1948] in well-known experiments,

The influence of emotions on memory

sacred to involuntary memorization, asked the subjects 1.5-2 hours after the start of the working day to tell what happened to them when they went to work in the morning. People remembered especially well those events that prevented or, conversely, contributed to their speedy arrival at work, which was the main goal of their actions at that moment. According to modern ideas, the main aspect of an event that causes an emotional reaction is its correspondence (or non-compliance) with the individual’s goal. Thus, in the experiments of A.A. Smirnov’s subjects involuntarily remembered those events that were emotionally charged for them.

As a rule, people remember well those events of their past life, especially childhood, that caused them a strong emotional reaction. Such memories can be very vivid, and usually people are confident that everything happened exactly as they remember. However, the degree of accuracy of these memories and even their correspondence to reality is questioned by a number of authors. Cases have been described in which a vivid memory of a certain event that supposedly happened in childhood was preserved, but it was possible to prove that this event did not actually happen, and the “memory” was constructed by the stories of adults and one’s own imagination.

The issue of memories of sexual abuse suffered in childhood has become especially controversial in recent years. Such memories sometimes arise in clients during psychotherapy sessions. Some authors believe that memories of emotional traumatic experiences were repressed from consciousness and returned to it thanks to psychotherapeutic work [Bass, Davis, 1988]. Other authors argue that in some cases these are false memories, unwittingly constructed through suggestion by the psychotherapist himself, who believes that the client must have such memories [Ofshe, Walters, 1994].

What characteristics of an event lead to its being imprinted in memory for a long time? To answer this question, M. Linton [Linton, 1982] conducted an experiment on herself. For 6 years, she wrote down on cards every day at least two events that were significant to her, indicating the date and assessing the degree of their emotional content. At the end of each month, she randomly selected a few cards, checked whether she remembered the order in which the events happened, and re-evaluated their emotional content. Linton came to the conclusion that those events that are retained in memory for many years should have the following characteristics. • The event should attract attention and have a strong emotional connotation at the moment when it occurred. The following exception is possible: the event is perceived as ordinary, and the indicated characteristics are attributed to it after some time retroactively. This happens when meeting a person with whom the subject falls in love, but not at first sight, but after some time. In this case, the first meeting, which was not an important event,

Chapter 12. Emotional regulation of cognitive processes

eat, is rethought, becomes emotionally significant and can be imprinted in memory for a long time.

• The event must lead to some changes in a person’s life. New events follow or new opportunities open up.

• The event must be relatively unique. The memory of it should not be blurred by subsequent repeated repetitions of similar events.

A repetition of Linton's study conducted by U. Waganaar [Waganaar, 1986] using a slightly more sophisticated methodology gave similar results: events that have a strong emotional overtone and stand apart in the life path of the subject are best retained in memory. Of interest are the data regarding the degree of pleasantness of the event and its memorization, presented in Fig. 12.1. More pleasant events are retained in memory. However, memories of unpleasant events, although fewer in number, remain in the memory without fading for three years; Even a slight reminiscence is observed.

To present the available experimental data regarding the connection between human emotional states and memory, it is convenient to use the diagram shown in Fig. 12.2. The diagram shows three types of connections, each of which will be analyzed below.

The connection between a person’s emotional state and the emotional coloring of memorized information

The main assumption in this case is that the emotional state influences what information a person remembers more successfully. This assumption is consistent with the data presented above regarding perception and memory, according to which a person primarily processes information related to his emotional state. In a series of experiments conducted by Bower, Gilligan, and Monteiro [Bower, Gilligan, Monteiro, 1981], the existence of such an influence was clearly demonstrated. The main hypothesis was that when reading a text, information is better remembered whose emotional coloring corresponds to the emotional state of the subject at the time of reading. In a simplified presentation, the experiment consisted of the following. Two groups of eight people each were introduced into certain emotional states using hypnosis: one group - in joyful

The influence of emotions on memory

Emotional coloring Emotional coloring

memorized information reproduced information

Rice. 12.2.

Types of connections between a person’s emotional state and the emotional coloring of memorized information.

new, the other - sad. The subjects were given a story to read that consisted of 121 sentences. The story was read twice at a pace convenient for the subjects. The text described how two students spent their free time together. One of them, Andrew, was characterized as a cheerful person who succeeds in everything in life (in school, in personal relationships, etc.). Another student, Jack, was described as a sad person who constantly faces failures in life. 54 sentences dedicated to Andrew had a joyful emotional content, and 57 sentences dedicated to Jack had a sad emotional content; another 10 sentences were neutral.

After reading the story, the subjects were brought out of the state of hypnosis and 24 hours later they reproduced the story in writing. Subjects from both groups reproduced approximately the same number of sentences from the story. However, subjects who were in a sad state while reading reproduced significantly more sentences with sad content (i.e., dedicated to Jack) than sentences with joyful content (dedicated to Andrew). The subjects from the “joyful” group showed the opposite picture - they reproduced more sentences with joyful content. The results of the experiment are presented in Fig. 12.3. One possible explanation for the obtained effect is that the emotional state of the subjects contributed to the emergence of identification with one of the characters - with Andrew in the case of a happy state and with Jack in the case of a sad state. Therefore, the subjects remembered more sentences describing the character with whom they identified themselves. In additional experiments, the authors were able to demonstrate the inappropriateness of this explanation of the results obtained. Thus, it was shown that there is a connection between the emotional coloring of information and the emotional state of the subject at the moment of memorization.

Chapter 12. Emotional regulation of cognitive processes

The connection between a person’s emotional state and the emotional coloring of reproduced information

Quite a lot of experimental data indicates that people more easily recall information that corresponds in emotional coloring to their emotional state at the time of reproduction. In one experiment, Gordon Bower [Bower, I98I] asked 14 subjects to write down several pleasant and unpleasant events that had happened to them recently, and rate the intensity of the emotional coloring of each of them on a 10-point scale. A week later, the subjects were asked to remember these events. Using hypnosis, seven subjects were put into a happy state, and the other seven into a sad state. For “joyful” subjects, the percentage of pleasant events (in relation to the total number of pleasant events recorded a week earlier) was higher than the percentage of unpleasant events. “Sad” subjects, on the contrary, had a higher percentage of unpleasant events. At the same time, the subjects more often recalled pleasant and unpleasant events that received high ratings on the intensity scale.

In another experiment, Bower [198I] asked subjects to spend 10 minutes recalling events that happened in their lives before the age of 15 and describing each of them in 1-2 sentences. The next day, subjects classified these events as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Another day later, the subjects were put into a happy or sad state using hypnosis and asked to remember the events with which they had worked the day before. The results obtained are presented in Fig. 12.4. The data from this experiment, like the previous one, showed that in a joyful state, subjects remember more pleasant events, and in a sad state, more unpleasant ones.

The influence of the connection between a person’s emotional state at the time of memorization and at the time of reproduction on the success of reproducing information

Some works in the 1960s and 70s studied the influence on mnemonic processes of special psychophysiological states that arise under

exposure to alcohol, marijuana or amphetamines [Martins, 1985]. It turned out that if the subjects are in the same psychophysiological state at the time of memorization and at the time of reproduction, then they manage to reproduce more material. However, in Icke's experiments

Features of emotional memory

The emotional type of memory is a kind of indicator of a person’s internal state. Our emotions characterize how successful our relationships are in our personal lives and in society.

According to the outstanding scientist P. P. Blonsky, the emotions experienced by a person during a specific event are brighter than those that he experiences, retrieving from memory over time. Gradually they weaken, mixing with other emotions and reasoning. But as soon as a person finds himself in a similar situation, a pronounced emotion is instantly retrieved from memory and can push us to perform certain actions or, conversely, deter us from them. A feature of emotional memory is that a person especially vividly and clearly remembers three feelings: fear, suffering and surprise. However, there is a certain difference in the perception of these feelings. Thus, surprise is remembered as a factor that surprised, and the feeling itself is not re-experienced during recall. Suffering and fear are remembered as feelings.

Which emotions are remembered better, positive or negative? Practice shows that negative emotions are remembered better, because even animals have negative emotions in their minds for many years, which, by the way, allows them to maintain their population. In addition, a person has the ability to “transfer” received emotions from one stimulus to similar ones. If, for example, a person was seriously poisoned by mushrooms in childhood, then, as he grows up, he will probably subconsciously be afraid of eating them. Another example: if a child repeatedly experienced strong fear in childhood, then in the future this can lead to distrust and timidity. The same thing is observed in animals. So, for example, if a dog that was hit by a car survived, then for the rest of its life it will probably be afraid of cars.

Kinds

Human memory is classified according to two main indicators: information storage period and the predominant analyzer.

• Instantaneous - lasts up to 0.5 seconds, and its essence is the reflection of data by the senses without any processing.
• Short-term – exists for short-term storage of the main elements of what is perceived. Its duration is approximately 20 seconds.

• Operational - a type designed to store material for a given period. After solving the task, information can be erased from RAM.
• Long-term – the ability to store information for an almost unlimited amount of time and reproduce it at any time.

Depending on the main analyzer of data coming from the external environment, the following types are distinguished:

• Visual – preservation and reproduction of visual images, the ability to see “before your eyes” (in the imagination) a detailed picture of what is perceived, even when it no longer affects the senses. Without developing this type of memory, you cannot become an engineer or an artist.
• Auditory – the ability to remember and reproduce a variety of sounds. It is especially characteristic of musicians, philologists, and people who study foreign languages. Any scientist, lecturer, or school teacher should be able to quickly perceive the meaning of a text he hears and read, identify the order of logical chains in reasoning, and retell it quite accurately in his own words.
• Emotional – it is also called memory for experiences. It is of practical importance for good memorization of material, because what is associated with the emotional experiences of the individual is more firmly fixed in the brain.
• Motor – especially needed by athletes and dancers to develop complex motor skills.

Types of memory according to the nature of mental activity

According to the nature of mental activity, they distinguish between motor, emotional, figurative and verbal-logical

memory.

Motor (or motor) memory is detected very early. This is, first of all, memorization, preservation and reproduction of various movements, memory for posture, body position. It underlies many professional skills that gradually become automatic, i.e. carried out without attracting consciousness and attention. People with developed motor memory better learn material not by listening or reading, but by rewriting text. This is one of the ways to develop literacy. Reaching full development earlier than other forms, motor memory in some people remains leading for life, while in others, other types of memory play a leading role.

Emotional (or affective) memory is the storage and reproduction of sensory perceptions together with the objects that cause them. Emotions always signal how our needs and interests are satisfied, how our interaction with the outside world is carried out. Therefore, emotional memory is very important in the life and activities of every person. A person retains strong, emotionally charged impressions the longest. It is believed that sensory memory, on the basis of which emotional memory develops, is already present in a six-month-old child and reaches its development by three to five years. It is the basis of caution, sympathy and antipathy, as well as the primary sense of recognition (familiar and foreign).

Investigating the stability of emotional memory, V.N. Myasishchev found that when schoolchildren were shown pictures, the accuracy of memorization depended on the emotional attitude towards them: positive, negative or indifferent. With a positive attitude they remembered all 50 pictures, with a negative attitude - only 28, and with an indifferent attitude - only 7.

Figurative memory is the memorization of sensory images of objects, phenomena and their properties (depending on the type of analyzer that perceives information, figurative memory is divided into visual, auditory, tactile, etc.). When characterizing figurative memory, one should keep in mind all those features that are characteristic of ideas, and, above all, their pallor, fragmentation and instability. These characteristics are also inherent in this type of memory, so the image of what was previously perceived often undergoes a certain transformation. The following changes are detected: some simplification (omission of details), some exaggeration of individual details, transformation of the figure into a more symmetrical one. Moreover, over time, these differences can deepen significantly. The images that are visually reproduced most clearly and vividly are those that are rare, unusual, and unexpected.

Figurative memory is usually more pronounced in children and adolescents. In adults, the leading memory, as a rule, is not figurative, but logical, although there are professions where it is necessary to have a good figurative memory. A type of figurative memory is considered to be eidetic memory, the correct use of which underlies good memorization.

Eidetic memory was studied by L.S. Vygotsky and A.R. Luria. They introduced the term “eidetism” (from the Greek image) as a type of figurative memory, the ability to reproduce vivid pictures of objects and phenomena after their direct impact on the senses ceases. According to scientists, such a system of perception of events, people, objects and any data (words, numbers, etc.) immeasurably expands human capabilities. The eidetic does not remember, but, as it were, continues to see what has already disappeared from sight. The pictures that appear before his mind's eye are so clear that he can move his gaze from one detail to another. He can continue to see the series of words, signs, numbers presented to him, or turn the data dictated to him into visual images. The same applies to music, which a person seems to continue to hear.

Verbal-logical memory is associated with memorizing, recognizing and reproducing thoughts, concepts, conclusions, etc. The peculiarity of this type of memory is that thoughts do not exist without language, which is why memory for them is called not just logical, but verbal-logical.

Since thoughts can be embodied in various linguistic forms, their reproduction can be oriented toward conveying either only the basic meaning of the material or its literal verbal presentation. If in the latter case the material is not subject to semantic processing at all, then its literal memorization turns out to be no longer logical, but mechanical memorization.

Verbal-logical memory is a form of memory characteristic only of humans, in contrast to motor, emotional and figurative memory, which in their simplest forms are also characteristic of animals. Based on the development of these types of memory, verbal-logical memory becomes leading in relation to them, and the development of other types of memory depends on its development. This type of memory is directly related to learning.

Basic memory processes

The main memory processes include: memorization, storage, recognition, reproduction

and
forgetting
information.

Memorization is the process of imprinting and subsequently storing perceived information. Based on the degree of activity of this process, it is customary to distinguish two types of memorization: involuntary

(or unintentional) and
arbitrary
(or intentional).

Involuntary memorization is memorization without a predetermined goal, without the use of any techniques or manifestation of volitional efforts.

Voluntary memorization is a special and complex mental activity subordinate to the task of remembering.

According to the nature of the connections (associations) underlying memory, memorization is divided into mechanical

and
meaningful.
Mechanical

memorization is remembering without awareness of the logical connection between different parts of the perceived material. The basis of rote memorization is associations by contiguity.

Meaningful

memorization is based on understanding the internal logical connections between individual parts of the material. The most important method of meaningful memorization of material and achieving high strength of its retention is the method of repetition.

A person remembers most firmly those facts, events and phenomena that are especially important for him, for his activities. And vice versa, everything that is of little significance to a person is remembered much worse and forgotten more quickly. Stable interests that characterize a person are of great importance when remembering. Everything that is connected with these stable interests in the surrounding life is remembered better than that which is not connected with them.

Preservation is a process of active processing, systematization, generalization of material, and mastery of it. Retention of what has been learned depends on the depth of understanding. Well-understood material is remembered better. Conservation also depends on the attitude of the individual. Personally significant material is not forgotten.

Reproduction and recognition are processes of restoring what was previously perceived. The difference between them is that recognition occurs upon a repeated encounter with an object, upon its repeated perception, while reproduction occurs in the absence of the object.

Reproduction can relate to movements, actions, expressed in the formation of habits and skills, to visual contents of consciousness (image-representations of objects or words), to thoughts and feelings.

Playback may be involuntary

and
arbitrary
.

Involuntary is an unintentional reproduction, without the goal of remembering, when images emerge by themselves, most often by association.

Voluntary reproduction is a purposeful process of restoring past thoughts, feelings, aspirations, and actions in consciousness. Sometimes spontaneous reproduction occurs easily, sometimes it requires effort. Conscious reproduction associated with overcoming certain difficulties, requiring volitional efforts, is called recollection.

The qualities of memory are most clearly revealed during reproduction. It is the result of both memorization and retention. We can judge memorization and preservation only by reproduction.

Forgetting is a natural process. Much of what is fixed in memory is forgotten to one degree or another over time. Forgetting can be caused by various factors. The first and most obvious of them is time. The greatest loss of material occurs immediately after its perception; subsequently, forgetting occurs more slowly. To prevent forgetting, it is necessary to understand, comprehend the information and repeat it.

The next factors of forgetting are the frequency of use of the material and the degree of its importance for the subject. What is forgotten first of all is what is not used, what is not repeated, what there is no interest in, what ceases to be significant for a person. Details are forgotten sooner; General provisions and conclusions are retained in memory longer.