It’s Kentucky Derby day. My best friend’s mom was a fan of racing and the family all used to bet small bets among themselves on the Derby. One year, I bet my friend’s mom and won. That lady died several years ago, but whenever I hear stories about golf or horse racing (two things she enjoyed), I think of her.
I seem to associate people with things they like or with the place they live, so for instance if I hear something about Edmonton, I think of the friends who are there.
What about other Dopers? What sorts of things bring thoughts of your friends or family to mind?
I teach a course in Psychology, and the chapter we just finished dealt with memory.
Many studies have shown that sensory input can bring back memories; for me, the smell of lilacs reminds me of my grandmother as she loved lilacs, she had lilac bushes all around her house and she even wore lilac perfume. My mother always made anise flavored candy at Christmas, so whenever I smell it I think of those Christmas memories.
Many people associate a song with a vivid memory. The song, “Wild Thing” reminds me of being at the beach when I was a kid - they played that song to death and I can still hear the echo of that flute solo as I was playing in the water. You can also be prompted by non- musical sounds; I hate the sound of ticking clocks as it reminds me of nights spent at my other grandmother’s house where she had about a dozen clocks, all ticking at different tempos and it drove me nuts as a kid.
These sensory cues can also bring back bad, or sad memories.
There have also been some interesting studies showing even a location can help bring back memories. Divers were told to memorize a list of items while they were underwater. When asked to remember the list above water, they had difficulties, but asked to remember the list under water and they showed great improvement. An example of that is when you get up and go to another room to get something and forgot what you went to get. Often, if you think back to the location where you were when you got up to get “whatever”, it will suddenly pop back into your mind.
Didn’t mean to ramble on and on, but having just completed the chapter on memory, you - well, brought up some recent memories.
It was really interesting. I’m always interested in things psychological and I was wondering whether people have the same sorts of memory triggers. I know smells work for some people, but I mostly associate places with smells.
There wasa deodorant available here for a while, Natrel, and everytime I smelled it, it would remind me of the summer when I was 16 and spent every sunday at the beach.