The Language of the Brain

When we think of all the many factors that influence and affect our memory, language isn't high up on the list; however, according to Wang and Ross (2007) "language serves as an important vehicle...about what to remember, how to remember and why to remember it" (p. 661). As infants, we are unable to communicate via speaking and therefore, we can't recall a lot of memories during that time because they would not make sense to us in the language we know as adults. We still have an unconscious knowledge of these events or this information but we are unable to retrieve that information. At that stage in our lives, everything was different and new to us before we were able to learn about our surroundings. Our brains were also not fully developed and we didn't understand emotions.

This birthday party looks fun but these babies probably won't remember it as adults.

Language plays an important part in the development of children's memory skills by being a tool for remembering as well as for explaining what they remember to others later on. Before language was developed, humans were able to recall events and locations personally but it was difficult or impossible to explain those memories to others. Being able to communicate our memories to others plays an important role in helping us to "remember" and keeps our memories sharp.

Perhaps early drawings of memories or just simply telling a story. Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/oldest-known-cave-art-was-made-by-neanderthals-not-humans/story-1nRzMhYLN5oVUKESP1RUdM.html

I have friends who have a three year old son. Every day when he gets home from school, they ask about his day. When asked certain things, he says he doesn't remember and other information he does recall. This is due to episodic memory (or recalling past events) in children not being developed yet but it's still important that they ask him these questions so that they can help him develop the act of "remembering" and build his memory.

Below is a video explaining how episodic memory works in children and why it is important to ask kids to recall events or information.

Culture also plays a large role in how we recall and express our memories to others. America is a very individualistic culture. People focus more on their own thoughts, feelings and emotions; therefore, we express our memories in the same manner. This may be also because adults and parents in these cultures have discussions with children that are more individualistic such as discussing thoughts, feelings, etc.

Asian cultures, on the other hand, are more pluralistic societies and focus more on groups, family and the society as a whole. Individuals in these cultures may express their memories as a third party bystander as opposed to through their own individualistic lens. Wang and Ross (2007) mention that early parent–child memory conversations can cause children to remember and talk about their personal experiences in culturally acceptable ways as opposed to discussing how the memory or personal experience affected them personally or directly (p. 660).

My own culture is very American and very individualistic. My friends and family are always blown away about how I can remember the smallest details of things from years and years ago (for example, the outfit my best friend wore on the third day of 7th grade). Looking back on my memories, I wonder why I can remember the small things that I do and I have realized that I remember these details based on how they effected me and I recall the event based on how it made me feel. So perhaps you're wondering why my best friend's outfit in 7th grade is something I would remember. Well, it's because I thought it was adorable and still to this day, I wish I could find that dress in an adult size. :)

After all of the information I have discovered about memory, it's really interesting to look back on random memories from your childhood and try to see if you're remembering it from an individualistic way (the way it made you feel, how it affected you personally, etc.) or if you are reviewing it as a third-party. I've been doing that recently and I encourage you to do the same. Memory is a fascinating concept!

References:

Wang, Q., & Ross, M. (2007). Culture and memory. In S. Kitayama & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of cultural psychology (p. 645–667). The Guilford Press.