Matthew D’Avella - BTMM 4446 - 1/31/10
READING SUMMARY: Memory and Comprehension
Harris, R. J., Cady, E. T., & Tran, T. Q. (2006). Comprehension and memory. In Jennings Bryant and Peter Vorderer (eds.), Psychology of Entertainment, pp. 71-84. Routledge.
Memory is a complex and fundamental system in the brain that is constantly receiving new and recalling old information. Memory is broken into three different stages that include sensory, working and long-term memory. The most basic stage is the sensory memory, which occurs through visual, auditory or other sensory information and only lasts a few seconds. To prevent the loss of this information, the working memory (short-term) is required. This is an ongoing process as it “involves the concurrent storage and processing of relevant information while inhibiting or ignoring information irrelevant to the current task” (p. 72). This material will be lost within 18 seconds if it is not rehearsed and brought into the long-term memory.
The traditional understanding of how these memory stages interact with each other was thought to be through a linear flow from sensory to working to long-term memory. This view has recently been contested, as psychologists (e.g., Cowan) suggest that there is a more complex system at work. “Incoming information enters sensory memory, is matched and interpreted based on a long-term memory representation, and then is temporarily stored in working memory where different information can form newly established links. Finally, these newly formed associations are stored in long-term memory” (p. 75). Opposed to the traditional linear flow of memory, this concept suggests that long-term memory plays a primary role in comprehension. In other words, previous media experiences can directly affect present media experiences.
Comprehension and memory are closely related processes of the human brain that have continuing effects with each new media experience. How a particular entertainment program is comprehended greatly affects how it is remembered. For instance, if a radio is playing in the background while other activities occur, there is little chance that the program will be remembered. The strongest form of comprehension occurs when there is a certain depth of processing in which meaningful associations are combined with existing knowledge. A documentary based on paper clips may not be as thrilling to the audience as a documentary on the death penalty. Without a strong connection to the material this information will live and die in the sensory memory.
Autobiographical memory encapsulates events and experiences that have occurred in one’s life. The three levels of autobiographical memory, ranging from broad to detailed, include lifetime period, general event and event-specific knowledge. Media events are often strongly connected to one’s autobiographical memory. “The knowledge base of a certain lifetime period may include an evaluative component, and those attitudes may be used to construct memories at a later time, as when hearing a certain song induces good feelings because of the pleasant lifetime period it evokes, not because of the tune or the lyrics of the songs” (p. 74). Even after decades have passed, adults still have strong connections to the movies and songs they were exposed to as children.
Frequency and vividness are two major factors that contribute to strong comprehension and lasting memory. If high frequencies of African-American men on television are portrayed as criminals or drug dealers, many viewers will develop this negative stereotype for black men. Unless they are exposed to diversity in their life this stereotype will most likely persist. Another way that a program can have a strong effect on our memory is if it is particularly vivid. For example, immediately following the release of Jaws a large percentage of people stopped going to the beach along the east coast. The movie was so vivid and so frightening that it was stored in their long-term memory.
While negative stereotypes on television can lead to negative stereotypes in real life, a positive correlation can be beneficial to a minority group. Will and Grace, a popular television show depicting the lives of several gay men, helps to enforce a positive representation of homosexuality. Entertainment and education can also be strongly linked to issues affecting a majority of people such as AIDS, drinking and driving, and skin cancer. “…[The] Harvard School of Public Health worked with 250 NBC writers and producers to incorporate the new idea of ‘designated driver’ into plot lines” (p. 78). The designated driver message appeared on 160 television shows and by the end of the 90’s the drunk-driving fatality rate had fallen by one-third. Another example occurred when news anchor Katie Couric televised her colon exam live in 2000. Colonoscopies rose 20% following the broadcast. According to the Cultivation Theory, the more one is exposed to television, the more their worldview will resemble the world on television. For example, if there are a large number of murders on television shows and on the news, viewers will think that they live in a violent world.
Personally I found the article to be complex and difficult to read. It didn’t help that the article was about comprehension and memory. During the middle of a paragraph I’d start to think about thinking and subsequently lose my place completely. The section titled Exemplification Theory and Cognitive Heuristics was particularly hard to get through. The most intriguing parts of the article were Minority Group Portrayals, Cultivation Theory and Environment as Education. The conclusion seemed to be weak and forced: “In this way, comprehending and remembering media events play an important role in our lives” (p. 82). The authors could have developed this paragraph further and left on a much better note.