The effect of selective discussion on young people's autobiographical memories

<p>Young people frequently talk about memories of experienced events with their parents and peers. These conversations are selective and little is known about the fate of memories that are not talked about. Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF; Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994) is an experimental paradigm that can be used as a proxy for selective conversations under controlled conditions. While some studies have been conducted with adults (see Storm et al., 2015 for review), the impact of selective discussion on young people’s recall of their autobiographical memories has not yet been investigated. This thesis, therefore, addresses a number of key gaps in the literature. In the first study, we investigated the impact of selective discussion on 8-9-year-old children’s (N = 65) recall of their autobiographical memories. Selective discussion produced RIF for children’s positive and negative memories. Selective discussion also produced RIF for children’s memory details; even when non-discussed memories were recalled, they were recalled in sparser detail. In addition, children who discussed a selection of their memories in more detail later forgot a greater proportion of their non-discussed memories. These findings are the first to demonstrate that selective discussion with children results in non-discussed memories being forgotten. Moreover, the findings indicate the importance of memory detail in RIF for autobiographical memories. In the second study, we investigated the short and long-term impact of selective discussion on 13-15-year-old adolescents’ (N = 58) recall of their autobiographical memories. After a short delay, selective discussion led to RIF for adolescents’ negative memories only; RIF did not occur for adolescents’ positive memories. After a long delay, RIF occurred for both positive and negative autobiographical memories. Given that Study 1 demonstrated that for children, RIF occurred for both positive and negative memories after a short delay, these findings with adolescents represent a novel developmental difference in RIF for autobiographical memories with regard to memory valence. In addition, they suggest that RIF for different kinds of stimuli may occur over different delay periods. In the third study, we expanded on the findings of Study 1, investigating the impact of selective discussion on specific kinds of autobiographical memory details for both children and adolescents (N = 123; combined sample from Study 1 and 2). RIF occurred for some memory details but did not occur for others. Moreover, the details of children’s, as compared to adolescents’, non-discussed autobiographical memories were more vulnerable to being forgotten following selective discussion. These findings again demonstrate a developmental difference in RIF for autobiographical memories and highlight the importance of investigating how selective discussion may impair non-discussed autobiographical memories even when they are recalled. Overall, our findings extend the field by establishing that selective discussion about young people’s everyday autobiographical memories results in non-discussed memories being forgotten. More specifically, we found developmental differences with regard to memory valence and detail that had previously been overlooked in developmental studies of RIF. Our findings add clarity about the specific types of memory detail that are vulnerable to being forgotten from non-discussed memories and highlight the necessity of investigating the long-term effects of selective discussion, even when RIF is not immediately evident.</p>

The effect of selective discussion on young people's autobiographical memories

<p>Young people frequently talk about memories of experienced events with their parents and peers. These conversations are selective and little is known about the fate of memories that are not talked about. Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF; Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994) is an experimental paradigm that can be used as a proxy for selective conversations under controlled conditions. While some studies have been conducted with adults (see Storm et al., 2015 for review), the impact of selective discussion on young people’s recall of their autobiographical memories has not yet been investigated. This thesis, therefore, addresses a number of key gaps in the literature. In the first study, we investigated the impact of selective discussion on 8-9-year-old children’s (N = 65) recall of their autobiographical memories. Selective discussion produced RIF for children’s positive and negative memories. Selective discussion also produced RIF for children’s memory details; even when non-discussed memories were recalled, they were recalled in sparser detail. In addition, children who discussed a selection of their memories in more detail later forgot a greater proportion of their non-discussed memories. These findings are the first to demonstrate that selective discussion with children results in non-discussed memories being forgotten. Moreover, the findings indicate the importance of memory detail in RIF for autobiographical memories. In the second study, we investigated the short and long-term impact of selective discussion on 13-15-year-old adolescents’ (N = 58) recall of their autobiographical memories. After a short delay, selective discussion led to RIF for adolescents’ negative memories only; RIF did not occur for adolescents’ positive memories. After a long delay, RIF occurred for both positive and negative autobiographical memories. Given that Study 1 demonstrated that for children, RIF occurred for both positive and negative memories after a short delay, these findings with adolescents represent a novel developmental difference in RIF for autobiographical memories with regard to memory valence. In addition, they suggest that RIF for different kinds of stimuli may occur over different delay periods. In the third study, we expanded on the findings of Study 1, investigating the impact of selective discussion on specific kinds of autobiographical memory details for both children and adolescents (N = 123; combined sample from Study 1 and 2). RIF occurred for some memory details but did not occur for others. Moreover, the details of children’s, as compared to adolescents’, non-discussed autobiographical memories were more vulnerable to being forgotten following selective discussion. These findings again demonstrate a developmental difference in RIF for autobiographical memories and highlight the importance of investigating how selective discussion may impair non-discussed autobiographical memories even when they are recalled. Overall, our findings extend the field by establishing that selective discussion about young people’s everyday autobiographical memories results in non-discussed memories being forgotten. More specifically, we found developmental differences with regard to memory valence and detail that had previously been overlooked in developmental studies of RIF. Our findings add clarity about the specific types of memory detail that are vulnerable to being forgotten from non-discussed memories and highlight the necessity of investigating the long-term effects of selective discussion, even when RIF is not immediately evident.</p>

Being Autistic in Turkey and the Representation of Autism in Media

Autism is an innate or developmental difference that occurs in the first years of life. While the number of individuals with autism in the world is increasing day by day, the importance of what should be known about autism also increases. However, it is still not possible to say that this information is sufficient. The definition of individuals with autism and their health problems, what autistic individuals do to express themselves, and who the individuals with autism are and their representatives are important. Some basic points such as how to raise awareness about the lives of individuals with autism have still not been overcome. The main theme of this study is how the media addresses the issue of individuals with autism, their problems, and needs. The research question of the study is how to read the reflections on autism through the media.

Evaluation of glenohumeral range of motion and humeral retroversion at ages after major change and differences in wrestlers

Purpose: This study aimed to present the change in humeral retroversion (HR) angle (HRA) that occurs in childhood and young adulthood and the potential developmental difference that is observed in wrestlers. Methods: HRA of dominant and non-dominant shoulders (DSHRA and NDSHRA, respectively) were measured using ultrasonography in a group of 30 wrestlers who started wrestling before the age of 13 years (Group 1), a group of 30 young adults, aged between 16–20 years, who were not actively engaged in any branch of overhead sports (Group 2) and a group of children aged between 11–13 years and not actively engaged in any branch of overhead sports (Group 3). Range of motion (ROM) degrees of dominant and non-dominant shoulders in all groups were compared within each group and between the groups. Results: DSHRA (mean: 88.73°, 88.93° and 89.40°) values were significantly higher than NDSHRA (mean: 81.13°, 81.83° and 84.37°) values (p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p < 0,05) in Groups I, II and III, respectively. Internal rotation and total ROM degrees of the dominant shoulder in Group 1 and 3 were higher than those in Group 2. Conclusion: There is no significant change in terms of HRA in people aged between 11–13 and 16–20 years because of natural development or wrestling. DSHRA values are higher than NDSHRA ones. In contrast to the shoulders of throwers, the shoulders of wrestlers are characterized by an increase in internal rotation, described as “Wrestler’s shoulder.” Level of Evidence: Level III.

Racializing Religion: Constructing Colonial Identities in the Syrian Provinces in the Nineteenth Century

In recent decades, international events and incisive critical voices have catapulted the concepts of race and religion to the foreground of International Relations research. In particular, scholars have sought to recover the racialized and imperial beginnings of IR as an academic discipline in the early-20th century. This article contributes to this growing body of work by analyzing both race and religion as conceptual tools of scientific imperial administration—tools that in the 19th century classified and divided the global periphery along a continuum of civilizational and developmental difference. The article then applies this framework to the case of French, and more broadly, European, relations with populations in the Ottoman Empire, particularly within the Syrian Provinces. As described throughout this article and the case study, the Europeans used the language of race to contribute to religious hierarchies in the Syrian provinces in the mid- and late-19th century, having a lasting effect on discussions of religion in IR and international politics.

Interpreting and Treating Autism in Javanese Indonesia: Listening to Folk Perspectives on Developmental Difference and Inclusion

In chapter 5, “Interpreting and Treating Autism in Javanese Indonesia: Listening to Folk Perspectives on Developmental Difference and Inclusion,” Annie Tucker shifts our discussion focus from diabetes to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Following a year and a half of ethnographic fieldwork in Yogyakarta and Jakarta, Indonesia, Tucker observes that while the concept of “autism” remains comparatively new to the region, there are, in fact, operant models of developmental difference in Javanese Indonesia, and a robust repertory of available responses to ASD. While weighing the benefits and challenges of adopting and mobilizing a globalized paradigm of developmental difference, Tucker illustrates how looking at meaningful embodied folk practices of inclusion might identify potentially powerful local interventions that could be disseminated, specifically describing the work of a Yogyakarta gamelan group that uses traditional music towards individually and socially therapeutic ends.