ERIC Number: EJ923432
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 37
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0163-853X
EISSN: N/A
We Remember, We Forget: Collaborative Remembering in Older Couples
Harris, Celia B.; Keil, Paul G.; Sutton, John; Barnier, Amanda J.; McIlwain, Doris J. F.
Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal, v48 n4 p267-303 2011
Transactive memory theory describes the processes by which benefits for memory can occur when remembering is shared in dyads or groups. In contrast, cognitive psychology experiments demonstrate that social influences on memory disrupt and inhibit individual recall. However, most research in cognitive psychology has focused on groups of strangers recalling relatively meaningless stimuli. This study examined social influences on memory in groups with a shared history, who were recalling a range of stimuli, from word lists to personal, shared memories. The study focused, in detail, on the products and processes of remembering during in-depth interviews with 12 older married couples. These interviews consisted of three recall tasks: (a) word list recall; (b) personal list recall, where stimuli were relevant to the couples' shared past; and (c) an open-ended autobiographical interview. These tasks individually conducted and then collaboratively conducted two weeks later. Across each of the tasks, although some couples demonstrated collaborative inhibition, others demonstrated collaborative facilitation. A number of factors were identified that predicted collaborative success--in particular, group-level strategy use. The results show that collaboration may help or hinder memory, and certain interactions are more likely to produce collaborative benefits. (Contains 6 footnotes and 5 tables.)
Descriptors: Stimuli, Word Lists, Memory, Social Influences, Cognitive Psychology, Recall (Psychology), Interviews, Older Adults, Spouses, Autobiographies, Cooperation, Inhibition, Interaction, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A