week 6 forum post responses
In need of a 250 word response/discussion to each of the following forum posts. Agreement/disagreement/and/or continuing the discussion.
Original forum discussion/topic post is as follows:
Disruption in Memory
Disruption in memory can occur at different stages: retention, encoding, storage, or retrieval. Describe three factors that interfere in recall. Give examples of how this may be present in a person seeking medical treatment and how you would address the problem. Then, suggest two preventative treatments to address the issue. Lastly, include an example of a preventive treatment for disruption of memory that we have not covered in our readings and why or how it can be beneficial.
Forum post #1
Memory is such an important part of our everyday life and it really isn’t until we need to use it or we forget something that we realize just how important it is. As we take in our surroundings such as listening, seeing, smelling, touching, etc., we are taking this information and encoding it into our memory. However, sometimes there are interferences and this comes along with an interference in the actual processing of our memory and in the recalling or “remembering” of our memory. One of the videos in our lessons states that our memory is just a reconstruction or reproduction of past events in our lives (APUS, 2018). That means we contract the things around us but it is how we interpret it that it becomes constructed. As we take in information, we only take in a portion of that so if two people are watching a car drive by, I may take in that the car was a Subaru while the person next to me only took in that it was the color blue. We also have what is known as a proactive and retroactive interference. This means that there is either a disruption on our old memories and new information. (APUS, 2018). For instance, as I take in new information, old information becomes changed or as I take in new information it becomes changed by what I already have stored in my memory. Everything gets stored together which allows us to use certain things as cues for memory but can also interfere with storing and retrieving correct memory.
As far as retrieval goes, yes the interferences above can change that, as what we retrieved may become influenced by other information or events we have stored but can also be effected by misleading information. When we associate certain words or phrases with a memory, we tend to remember it differently. A play on words can effect our memory and how we remember the story happening, which can create false memories. When talking with a client, you could tell their memory has been effected by any confusion or distortions they may express. For instance, if they are speaking and begin to be confused on what they were saying or what actually happened then their memory can be considered fuzzy. Also, if they talk about something such as a birthday they attended where a fight broke out and the next time you relive it the story seems to be different from the first time, then you could tell they aren’t remembering effectively enough to retell the same event or feeling. To help with this a treatment or preventive measure could be daily challenges. This is that you could challenge them to write in a journal every day, to set reminders, to take 10 minutes of meditation or deep breathing, etc. These daily challenges can help them destress, provide clarity, give them something to focus on and all in which can help open up their positivity to take in or remember things around them.
Forum post #2
As the forum post states, disruption of memory can happen during each stage of memory. There are more memory disruptions in short-term memory than in long-term memory. However, memory disruption can continue to occur in long-term memory. A factor that contributes to this disruption is the frequency of retrieval. Memory interference is different among groups and individuals. In the stage of retrieval, there is a term called the “Retrieval Disruption Hypothesis” that explains disruption of memory in group settings. Although there are both benefits and drawbacks to recalling information while in group settings, it has been found that individuals in group settings tend to remember less than what they would normally be able to remember if they were to recall information on their own (Barber & Rajaram, 2011).
Factors that can interfere with recall include motivation, attention, and distraction. Motivation is an important factor that can interfere with memory recall. When there is little to no incentive, it would be more difficult for an individual to store information. Grades can be seen as a motivational factor for students. Most students genuinely care about their classes. Students must study and be able to retain information to do well on tests and other assignments. If students lack the motivation, their grades will probably be a reflection of this. The same concept can be applied in the workforce. Often times, employees must excel at and thoroughly understand their job to be eligible for a promotion. Promotions, like grades, are motivational factors. Attention, or lack of attention, can interfere with memory. We may think that we are great at multi-tasking, but when we do too many tasks at one time, our focus is spaced out and we miss important details. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and academic performance is a prime example of how distraction can interfere with recall. Individuals with ADHD have trouble paying attention and they often experience problems with academics because of their disorder.
In an individual who might be seeking medical treatment for recall issues, the therapist must first determine the cause. If the individual is having problems with recall due to a lack of motivation, the therapist could instruct the individual to find ways to make studying more enjoyable. By incorporating aspects of life that the individual appreciates, he or she may find memorization and recall to be less of a challenge. In the case of attention, doing less multi-tasking would allow the individual to remain focused on one area until they can move onto a new area. If ADHD is suspected, the individual would first need a diagnosis. From there, preventative treatments could include medications, if needed, and classroom/environment settings more appropriate for individuals with ADHD.
Other preventative treatments for disruption of memory could include a healthy diet as well as exercise. Most of us have heard of “brain foods”. These foods are supposed to increase our focus and improve our memory. We know that the foods we consume and the workouts that we perform impact our body, but food and exercise also impact our mind. When we eat junk food and live sedentary lifestyles, our brains do not perform at their optimal levels.
Forum post #3
Memory consists of many different components: the working memory, where information is briefly held while we sort through it; episodic memory, where we remember the events of our lives; and semantic memory, where we remember general facts and information. In order to recall information it must go through the process of encoding where we take in new information and relate it to past knowledge, then it is stored where it maintained for a period of time, and finally we must be able to retrieve it, when needed. Three factors that can interfere with our ability to recall information are fading, retroactive and proactive interference, and repression.
Fading occurs when information in our working memory is not being processed and is overwhelmed by new information coming in and being stored in the short-term memory, so it naturally fades away. Retroactive interference takes place in the long-term memory where previously learned information is confused with new and similar incoming information. Let’s say for example, a psychology student has just learned and memorized all of the components of classical conditioning, but then they start learning about operant conditioning and this causes them to struggle to recall information about classical conditioning. In proactive interference, the opposite is true. In the same example, the student would fail to recall the new information on operant conditioning due to what they had previously learned about classical conditioning. Finally, repression, or motivated forgetting, is a Freudian concept where one purposely tries to block memories. This can happen with children who have experienced trauma in their lives, and it can also occur with women who repress the pain that they went through in childbirth only to be surprised with how painful it is in second go around. I have also heard examples of high school students hating a particular teacher or theirs, and as a result not being able to remember what they have learned in that class.
A person seeking medical treatment for repressed memories would most likely experience some of the following techniques used by their therapist: hypnotism; relaxation training; guided imagery; free association; projective drawing; and dream analysis.
In my current job, I would be more likely to work with students who were having issues with fading and retroactive/proactive interference. Preventative treatments I would use when working with students would include strategies that would help them to more successfully store and recall information for quizzes and tests. Some techniques might include rehearsing information out loud a number of times, using cues to recall information such as acronyms, using mnemonic devices, and also imagery and visualization techniques to help them recall different facts, vocabulary, or math formulas.
With dementia and Alzheimer’s disease on the rise, there a number or preventative treatments that include medications as well as natural supplements. This is of particular interest to me as I have an 87 year old grandmother who is becoming more and more forgetful, and we suspect is beginning to experience dementia. We have looked into her taking natural supplements such as Vitamin B-12, folic acid, and ginkgo biloba, but she is a bit stubborn and has yet to take us up on it.
