Individual differences in human memory

Author(s):  
Michael W. Eysenck
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc N Coutanche

We continually draw on, and link, conceptual knowledge with perception as we process and interact with our surroundings. This chapter highlights issues at the intersection of perceptual and conceptual processing in human memory. First, it discusses the role of the brain’s perceptual systems and connected regions during conceptual processing. Next, a case study of real-world (or ‘canonical’) size is used to illustrate questions and issues that arise when seeking to understand phenomena that can require information from both perceptual input and semantic memory to be integrated. The influence of conceptual processing on perception is then described, before outlining some additional related factors: conceptual granularity, episodic memory, and individual differences. The chapter concludes by looking to the future of this research area – a field that requires a unique understanding of issues that lie at the heart of perception, memory, and more.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blake L. Elliott ◽  
Samuel M. McClure ◽  
Gene Arnold Brewer

Prioritized encoding and retrieval of valuable information is an essential component of human memory due to capacity limits. Individual differences in value-directed encoding may derive from variability in stimulus valuation, memory encoding, or from strategic abilities related to maintenance in working memory. We collected multiple cognitive ability measures to test whether variation in episodic memory, working memory capacity, or both predict differences in value-directed remembering among a large sample of participants (n=205). Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was used to assess the contributions of episodic and working memory to value sensitivity in value-directed remembering tasks. Episodic memory ability, but not working memory capacity, was predictive of value-directed remembering. These results suggest that cognitive processes may be differentially related to value-based memory encoding.


10.1002/ch.95 ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Ost ◽  
Brian Fellows ◽  
Ray Bull

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Florian Sense ◽  
Maarten van der Velde ◽  
Hedderik van Rijn

Modern educational technology has the potential to support students to use their study time more effectively. Learning analytics can indicate relevant individual differences between learners, which adaptive learning systems can use to tailor the learning experience to individual learners. For fact learning, cognitive models of human memory are well suited to tracing learners’ acquisition and forgetting of knowledge over time. Such models have shown great promise in controlled laboratory studies. To work in realistic educational settings, however, they need to be easy to deploy and their adaptive components should be based on individual differences relevant to the educational context and outcomes. Here, we focus on predicting university students’ exam performance using a model-based adaptive fact-learning system. The data presented here indicate that the system provides tangible benefits to students in naturalistic settings. The model’s estimate of a learner’s rate of forgetting predicts overall grades and performance on individual exam questions. This encouraging case study highlights the value of model-based adaptive fact-learning systems in classrooms


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ylva Köhncke ◽  
Sandra Düzel ◽  
Myriam C. Sander ◽  
Ulman Lindenberger ◽  
Simone Kühn ◽  
...  

AbstractMaintained structural integrity of hippocampal and cortical grey matter may explain why some older adults show rather preserved episodic memory. However, viable measurement models for estimating individual differences in grey matter structural integrity are lacking; instead, findings rely on fallible single indicators of integrity. Here, we introduce multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) methodology to capture individual differences in grey matter integrity, based on multimodal structural imaging in a large sample of 1,522 healthy adults aged 60 to 88 years from the Berlin Aging Study II, including 331 participants who underwent MR imaging. Structural integrity factors expressed the common variance of voxel-based morphometry (VBM), mean diffusivity (MD), and magnetization transfer ratio (MT) for each of four regions of interest (ROI): hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, prefrontal cortex, and precuneus. Except for precuneus, the integrity factors correlated with episodic memory. Associations with hippocampal and parahippocampal integrity persisted after controlling for age, sex, and education. Our results support the proposition that episodic memory ability in old age benefits from maintained structural integrity of hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus. Exploratory follow-up analyses on sex differences showed that this effect is restricted to men. Multimodal factors of structural brain integrity might help improve our biological understanding of human memory aging.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ylva Köhncke ◽  
Sandra Düzel ◽  
Myriam C Sander ◽  
Ulman Lindenberger ◽  
Simone Kühn ◽  
...  

Abstract Maintained structural integrity of hippocampal and cortical gray matter may explain why some older adults show rather preserved episodic memory. However, viable measurement models for estimating individual differences in gray matter structural integrity are lacking; instead, findings rely on fallible single indicators of integrity. Here, we introduce multitrait–multimethod methodology to capture individual differences in gray matter integrity, based on multimodal structural imaging in a large sample of 1522 healthy adults aged 60–88 years from the Berlin Aging Study II, including 333 participants who underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Structural integrity factors expressed the common variance of voxel-based morphometry, mean diffusivity, and magnetization transfer ratio for each of four regions of interest: hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, prefrontal cortex, and precuneus. Except for precuneus, the integrity factors correlated with episodic memory. Associations with hippocampal and parahippocampal integrity persisted after controlling for age, sex, and education. Our results support the proposition that episodic memory ability in old age benefits from maintained structural integrity of hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus. Exploratory follow-up analyses on sex differences showed that this effect is restricted to men. Multimodal factors of structural brain integrity might help to improve our biological understanding of human memory aging.


Nature ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 272 (5651) ◽  
pp. 383-383
Author(s):  
Donald E. Broadbent

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