Articles on Memory

The Language of Emotions
This study was conducted by profesors Stefano Puntoni, Bart de Langhe, and Stjin van Osselaer. It talks about how messages attarct more the attention of people if they are written in their native languages. This emotional trigger that is pulled with messages in their native language is due to their personal memories, or the language contaext in which this memories are related to the message. The message may have a word in it that incounsciously triggers a memories in which the word(s) had a significant meaning for them. People ususally have more memories related to their native languages then their foreign languages, and this is why a message in their own laguage will have a stronger effect. In terms of marketing it is advised that the messages sent through advertisement are in the peoples native languages. Companies who need to sell may use this study to get advice about their publicity.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081215111433.htm

Some Short-Term Memories Die Suddenly
This study was conducted by Weiwei Zhang and Steve Luck. It basically proves that short-term memories dont fade away gradually, but the instantly disapear over a certain short period of time, usually seconds. these profesors gave out two test to twelve participants, one test was with squares, and different color fills, the person had to remember the colors of the square after some time. The second test was similar but it used colors.  “The memories are not like flashlights that get progressively weaker as the battery runs low, They are more like a laptop computer that continues working at the same speed until it suddenly shuts down.” Steve Luck. It will be important in life to avoid confusion when trying to make decisions based on weak, inaccurate memories.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429091806.htm

The Memories You Want to Forget are The Hardest to Lose
The author of this study is called Keith Payne, a professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Science and Elizabeth Corrigan a student. This study proved that the graphical negative images we see, are more permanent than reading negative words. They asked 218 participants to react to photographs instead of text. With this study they found out that people can not forget emotional events as esasily as unsignificant events, and that pleasant and unpleasant memories are hard to intentionally forget. Payne said that if there is enough powerful motivation to forget this memory it can be done. this willl help in the real life, to erase those traumatic memories that shape our personality.