What is reminiscence in psychology?

Reminiscence

Reminiscence is a mnemonic effect characterized by sudden recollection of perceived material without its repetition after a long time (from one day to 7, or even a longer period of time).

Reminiscence is a mental phenomenon that often occurs during the perception of information material with internal logical connections of the content, making a strong emotional impression on the individual.

The exact causes of sudden memories are not yet understood.

What is reminiscence

Reminiscence is a memory phenomenon that appears after memorizing information without directly reproducing it immediately after perception, but after a certain period of time without the action of a stimulus series on a person.

The term reminiscence was proposed in psychology by the Serbian scientist V. Urbancic in 1907. The scientist studied the phenomenon that he observed in subjects when memorizing material (verbal, non-verbal and sensorimotor movements).

The reminiscence effect is most pronounced in preschool age and in younger schoolchildren. In the field of psychology, scientists have identified higher quality indicators of delayed reproduction of memorized material than reproduction of information immediately after it has been memorized.

The sudden reproduction of material after memorization was studied by P. Ballard. His experimental studies involved individuals who memorized stimulus material, but there was not enough time for sufficient mastery.

After a time interval of 24 hours to 7 days, the subjects reproduced the material. The best results were shown by reproduction after a 2-3 day interval.

The results obtained were distinguished by quantitatively high indicators, which became entrenched in the psychological science of memory as the Ballard phenomenon.

Also in psychology, scientist Pierre Janet studied reminiscence. In his writings, he described the phenomenon as an automatic repetition of actions independent of external factors.

Reminiscence is a phenomenon that is quite widespread, and the frequency of its occurrence depends largely on the nature of the material that needs to be remembered.

In the studies of scientist D.I. Krasilshchikova, the reproduction of semantic material was revealed to a much greater extent than the incoherent reproduction of material. Experimental studies have established that interest in the material significantly influences the manifestation of reminiscence.

The occurrence of the phenomenon of sudden memory is influenced by the degree of mastery of the content of the material by the learner. Provided that the individual has not sufficiently mastered the content of the information material, a sudden memory will not take place.

If the learner tries to reproduce the material immediately after memorization itself, then he relies on associations that appear between images and concepts, and if the reproduction is more delayed, then the subject relies on a logical connection.

An example of reminiscence is taking a test by a student who memorizes the necessary information without understanding or comprehending it. Before taking the test, an individual may have a “mess in his head,” but at the right moment the information is remembered.

And after passing the test, the student forgets everything, without understanding the meaning of what he memorized. Or, for example, a schoolchild’s poem, wording, concept.

In many learning models, the main thing is the unconscious memorization of actions, phrases or words, which is achieved by frequent repetition of stimulus material.

Almost every person can observe reminiscence. It happens that an individual unexpectedly remembers a particular song, poem or minor events. The peculiarity of this effect is that this reproduction of the material occurs without targeted efforts. A person does not pull from memory, does not try to remember lines from a song, they themselves emerge from the depths of memory.

Reminiscence in psychology

Scientists have not sufficiently studied the causal sequence of the occurrence of sudden memories, the factors causing sudden recall, but the mechanism of the reminiscence effect itself has been studied, relying on the works of domestic and foreign researchers.

The mechanism of occurrence of a sudden memory is due to the action of affective inhibition, due to expressed emotional experience, impressions of the perceived information material. Emotional inhibition affects the nature of the reproduced material.

When reproducing memorized information, the story begins with the part that made the most vivid impression, while the logical connection between the reproduced information is lost.

In the case of delayed reproduction, the information does not lose its logical sequence.

From a psychological point of view, reminiscence is the process of normalizing the state of fatigue after intense physical, intellectual or emotional stress. Information material, after it is perceived by an individual, is organized in the head, after which it becomes easier for a person to voice it.

Also, sudden recollection occurs in the absence of layering of many details of one logical phenomenon, in which confusion arises. Conditioned forgetting may occur, but after an interval during which the individual is not exposed to stimulus material and there is no additional load on memory, sudden recollection may appear.

Reminiscence depends on an allusion, which is only a hint, a hint that pushes to the desired thought. As a result of an allusion, an individual experiences a sudden memory. Allusion is an external phenomenon, a stimulus factor that provokes the appearance of the internal phenomenon of reminiscence.

The phenomenon of reminiscence is also considered from the point of view of pathology in psychology, when a traumatic event takes place and memories take on the character of intrusive and negative ones.

When faced with external circumstances similar to those of a traumatic event, a person may experience emotional discomfort associated with the effect of obsessive reminiscence.

This state directly depends on the initial emotional state of the individual.

The phenomenon of sudden recollection in an intrusive form can be observed in individuals with PTSD. Reminiscence in these cases manifests itself in dreams with memories of the acquired traumatic experience.

Sudden recall of previously perceived information is often a natural feature of human memory.

If we consider reminiscence from the perspective of psychiatry, it can be a symptom of diseases such as traumatic brain injury, alcohol or infectious intoxication, brain pathologies and others.

Reminiscence in psychiatry is considered as a form of obsessive states, as a manifestation of neuroses, as a symptom of depressive states, manifested by uncontrolled chaotic thoughts. Sudden memories can occur during panic states, fears and phobias.

The manifestation of reminiscence, as a pathological symptom, is characterized by intrusiveness of thoughts and images, and also causes a fairly expressive emotional reaction in the individual (worry, anxiety, panic reactions, fears).

Reminiscence can become an object of attention in the practical activities of a psychologist, correctional activities with the aim of replacing negative experiences with positive ones, in the treatment of conditions associated with traumatic situations. Specialist interventions require both obsessive reminiscences with negative emotional symptoms and the complete absence of this memory effect, which may signal disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system or early senile dementia.

If a sudden memory occurs in a pathological manifestation, then the intervention of a specialist is necessary, who will determine the medicinal principles of treatment of the disease, the manifestations of which are reminiscence. Also, a qualified specialist must select effective and appropriate psychotherapeutic tactics for the disease.

Author : Practical psychologist Vedmesh N.A.

Speaker of the Medical-Psychological

Source: https://psihomed.com/reministsentsiya/

Causes of intrusive memories

When reminiscence is considered as a pathological feature within the framework of obsessions, then the root causes for it are, for example, traumatic circumstances of the past.

Mechanical recall of negative events and mental experience of a traumatic situation can be caused by both the general state of a person (well-being, mood, emotions) and external influences. Finding himself in a situation similar to psychotraumatic circumstances, an individual is able to experience the effect of obsessive and frightening reminiscence.

Nightmarish dreams with memories of experienced negative influences, thoughts and ideas associated with them are most characteristic of post-traumatic (stress) disorders.

Due to the fact that reminiscence can be attributed to the area of ​​obsessive states, this phenomenon appears in neuroses and manifests itself as uncontrolled negative thoughts in depression, panic states, and irrational fears.

When considering reminiscence within the framework of psychiatry, it should not be treated as a separate disease. It is part of the symptoms characteristic of a particular pathology.

In addition to psychotraumatic situations or hidden reasons, reminiscence or its almost complete absence, with the presence, for example, of pseudo-reminiscence, can be observed in somatic diseases. It is reasonable to include among them:

• brain pathologies that cause memory impairment;
• traumatic brain injuries;
• intoxication and so on.

Reminiscence as a phenomenon of the human psyche

Reminiscence is a mysterious phenomenon, the mechanisms of which are not completely clear to researchers. Human memory is selective and those events and materials that were emotionally charged and had practical meaning are well remembered. But it would seem: a lot of time has passed and everything has been forgotten... and suddenly it pops up in my memory unexpectedly and so vividly.

What is reminiscence?

Every person has encountered such a phenomenon as an unexpected memory of a seemingly long-forgotten childhood event, an old song or poem - this is reminiscence (lat.

reminiscentia - reminder), the effect of long-term memory, in which throughout a person’s life traces of processed information remain, cannot be erased and emerge in memory as time passes.

What is reminiscence in psychology?

Reminiscence in psychology is a phenomenon of memory. Pierre Janet, a French scientist who studied the phenomenon, came to the conclusion that reminiscence does not depend on external events and factors and is a completely automatic repetition of actions.

Psychologists believe that memory reminiscence is a normal state of the psyche: when overloaded with joyful or stressful events, a person’s mnestic processes are inhibited, due to overload - this is a protective mechanism of the psyche.

Subsequently, emotionally charged events are suddenly recalled.

Allusion and reminiscence - differences

Allusions and reminiscences are almost identical concepts in the literary sphere. An allusion is a “hint” or “joke” that refers to another literary work, an author, an event, or a specific person. Elements of allusion are dispersed throughout the text.

Without knowledge of the source to which the allusion refers, it is difficult for the reader to perceive the text.

The concept of reminiscence differs from allusion in that it is always an unconscious “memory”, an echo of “literature in literature”, while an allusion is an explicit, clear reference to another source.

The phenomenon of reminiscence as a process can be seen in various fields of applied sciences, art, and everyday life. The most famous types of reminiscence:

1. Historical and philosophical reminiscence
   . The ancient Greek philosopher Plato reasoned that all surrounding phenomena and objects are related to each other and thanks to this one can remember everything about everything. Any knowledge is memory or recollection. In his work “Phaedra”, Plato argues that reminiscence is like a sacrament of initiation and an approach to the spiritual.
2. Cinematic reminiscence
   . Vivid stylistic techniques and effects are what attract the viewer to cinema. Reminiscence in cinema is a common technique. The viewer’s attention is directed to any cross-events, a return to the past, works of art by great artists are used, such as in L. Riefenstahl’s film “Triumph of the Will”, when an analogy with the painting “Saint-Denis Street on the Day of National Day” is shown ": waving flags, without identifying the figures holding the banners.
3. Reminiscence - as a phenomenon of the psyche
   . Delayed recall of any material or event.
4. Philological (literary) reminiscence
   . Text reminiscences come in the following varieties:

• introduction into the text of certain words or expressions (proverbs, aphorisms, quotes recognizable to the reader);
• mention of cultural events of the past;
• the author’s creation of characters with descriptive characteristics of heroes familiar to the reader (“it was a typical Shakespearean Romeo”).

Forgetting and reminiscence

Memorizing a large amount of information is a very important process for students; the success and efficiency of learning academic disciplines depends on it. Human memory is structured in such a way that information that is not subject to comprehension and systematic repetition is quickly forgotten.

Forgetting is the opposite process of reminiscence, but this does not mean that everything is erased from memory, so-called traces remain and the effect of reminiscence is that after a long time, a person suddenly remembers a once forgotten song, film or book with the smallest details.

Source: https://womanadvice.ru/reminiscenciya-kak-fenomen-psihiki-cheloveka

Reminiscence - what is it, term, examples, features

The human psyche is very complex in its structure. Until now, many phenomena cannot be accurately explained. It is necessary to put forward assumptions and theories in order to somehow touch on a phenomenon that is still unclear, but clearly manifests itself in humans. The same thing happens with the phenomenon of reminiscence, the concept and examples of which will be discussed in the online magazine psytheater.com.

How do memories arise? In simple terms, a person pays his attention to something, after which he consciously remembers what he saw, heard, said, did, etc. However, a person cannot pay attention to absolutely everything.

For example, while you are standing at a bus stop and looking for minibus numbers to catch the one you need, at the same time people are passing by you, other cars are passing, the wind is blowing, birds are flying, people are talking about something, etc.

There are many events happening around you, but you only pay attention to what interests you at a given second of time.

It seems that a person does not remember everything that he did not pay attention to. Scientists refute this idea. Reminiscence is precisely those memories that the brain has imprinted, although the person himself did not pay attention to them.

Since memories are images from the past that have a clear picture and theme, then during reminiscence the memories are clear and clear. Only they are incomprehensible to a person, because he did not remember them consciously, did not pay attention to them when these events occurred in his life.

According to psychologists, the brain remembers absolutely everything that happens to a person, both inside and outside. A person may not pay attention to something, but if his eyes saw it or his ears heard it, then it will definitely be remembered and deposited in the subconscious, from where memories will arise in the future.

What is the outcome of reminiscence?

A completely normal phenomenon for a healthy brain is reminiscence - an involuntary rush of memories that a person might not even be aware of. However, if they are negative, emotionally overwhelming, intrusive, and appear in dreams, then we may be talking about mental disorders. The outcome depends on what measures the person takes.

Every person at least once remembered something that was long forgotten. Everyone periodically has clear and vivid memories that have never been reproduced by a person consciously.

This brain function often manifests itself in a situation where a person finds himself in circumstances that are triggers. They have some logical connection with the memories that they evoked, which can be of interest to psychologists and the person himself.

If you ask yourself why these memories occurred, then you can see the connection between the trigger and reminiscence.

Source: https://psytheater.com/reminiscenciya.html

Symptoms

Since reminiscence is either the norm or one of the symptoms of the disease, there is no need to talk about the various variants of manifestation of the phenomenon. The psychological features of reminiscence are the basis on which the psychiatric component is based.

In the form of a norm

The conditional symptom of reminiscence is clearly reflected in the direct explanation of the essence of the phenomenon. A person, after a certain amount of time, is able to clearly talk about something that seemed to be forgotten.

It can be called a reminiscence of a situation when an individual unexpectedly remembers the lyrics of songs, poems, any visual images or even minor events. At the same time, the mechanical nature of recall lies in the fact that a person does not make any effort to “pull out” information from memory.

In the pathological variant

Pathological reminiscence is characterized by the effect of obsession with images and thoughts that cannot be controlled. They arise spontaneously, despite the fact that, as it seemed, the negative experience of the past was forgotten.

Depending on the strength and vividness of the memories, the effect can provoke an emotional reaction (increased anxiety and restlessness, fear, panic reaction, etc.), and affect physiology (trembling, pallor, uncontrollable behavior, etc.).

Reminiscence - what is it in psychology, examples of reminiscence

For the average person, reminiscence is a well-known statement or thought that is reproduced without quotation marks. In fact, it is something more intellectual and creative. It is used to create a more intense plot that will captivate the reader with its dynamism. What it is and what is the difference between reminiscence and quotation can be found out in the article.

Meaning of the concept

Reminiscence is an element of artistic structure. From Latin the word is translated as “memory”.

It can be found in coats of arms, images, musical works, and text. Even the surnames of some characters can bear an artistic image of the concept in question.

Origins of the doctrine of reminiscence

Mention of this term appeared in Ancient Greece. Its author is considered to be Plato. He proves that remembering (reminiscence) is initiation into the sacraments, and therefore brings us closer to spiritual perfection. In his opinion, knowledge is nothing more than remembering.

The appearance of the concept in Russia

In Russian, the term began to be mentioned in the 19th century. One of the first to use it was the poet and philosopher N.V. Stankevich. At that time, reminiscence, an example of which will be described below, became a traditional term in music. Later it began to be used in literature.

Many researchers have dealt with the theoretical part of the problem under consideration in the literature:

• M. Bakhtin;
• Yu. Lotman;
• A. Arkhangelsky;
• P. Buharkin;
• T. Marchenko.

Russian literature

Reminiscence in the literature of Russian classics is most often found in poetry. The authors unconsciously borrowed other people's images or rhythmic-syntactic moves. You can find similar examples in the works of A. Blok, A. Pushkin, O. Mandelstam and many others.

Many Russian poets consciously used the technique of reminiscence to create complex associations in the reader that enriched the perception of the work.

Literary reminiscences in poetry:

• In A. Pushkin’s poem “Eugene Onegin,” when describing Lensky’s grave, the author created an association with the then popular elegy of C. Milvois.
• In his work “Scythians,” A. Blok uses a phrase from “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”
• In their poems, A. Blok and O. Mandelstam deliberately hint at the work of I. Annensky.

Reminiscence effect

Reminiscence is an excellent technique with which a work can be made even more rich and dynamic. Its effect is related to human memory and is based on associations and memories.

The technique is performed by referring to famous world works, historical facts, biographies of famous people, and various works of art.

This could be a mention of a specific character, a scene from another work. In rare cases, direct quotation is used.

The effect is achieved if the reader catches the similarity and draws the analogy that the author intended.

Many authors have learned to use reminiscence in their texts. In this case, even if the reader did not catch the analogy, he will be able to understand it with the help of the author.

However, it happens when a memory slips into the plot intuitively. Then the effect will not be so obvious, so only very attentive readers will be able to unravel it.

This may also be a discovery for the writer himself, who did not intend to draw an obvious analogy.

Reminiscence in cinema

The phenomenon of memory is inherent in all types of art. The most popular today is cinema, which is also full of different methods of influencing the viewer. Reminiscence is no exception.

A striking example is Leni Riefenstahl’s painting “Triumph of the Will.” At the end of the film, an analogy is drawn with the painting of the famous impressionist Claude Monet “Rue Saint Denis on the Day of the National Day.” In the film, as on the canvas, only waving banners are visible without the people holding them.

The scene between the main character and the CIA officer from the 1975 political drama “Three Days of the Condor” can be seen as a reminiscence of the monologue of the Grand Inquisitor (a parable from F. Dostoevsky’s novel “The Brothers Karamazov”).

REMINISCENCE

Reminiscence

(from Lat. reminiscor - to remember; to invent) - a mnemonic effect consisting of delayed recall of what initially (with direct reproduction) could not be reproduced. The result is a partial or even overall improvement in delayed reproduction compared to immediate reproduction.

Reminiscence is observed in the process of memorizing a wide variety of verbal and visual material (texts, poems, lists, sets of pictures, objects).

Reminiscence is especially pronounced in memory for emotionally charged life events and when working with logically coherent material.

Reminiscence is more often found when memorizing a large amount of material, and also in children than in high school students and adults. (T.P. Zinchenko)

Dictionary of a practical psychologist. S.Yu. Golovin

Reminiscence - in psychology - a more complete and accurate reproduction of material stored in memory compared to what was originally imprinted (memorized); reproduction - some time after memorizing something that was, as it were, inaccessible during direct perception.

It can be observed when memorizing a wide variety of verbal and visual material, as well as when consolidating sensorimotor skills. It especially often manifests itself when working with a large volume of logically or substantively related material that has an emotional impact on a person.

It is more pronounced in childhood - especially in preschool and junior school age.

The effect of reminiscence can be observed when working with various verbal or visual material, which can be texts, poems, lists, pictures, objects - especially if the material is logically connected, large in volume and has an emotional impact.

A number of hypotheses have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of reminiscence. According to one of them, fatigue during learning material leads to a deterioration in its immediate reproduction. The delay allows you to restore the optimal functional state and thus improves the reproduction of the material.

Another hypothesis is based on the assumption that there are processes of hidden repetition of material that continue after the cessation of explicit learning and lead to better reproduction after a delay. Reminiscence can also be explained by the fact that after a delay, the interference of information stored in memory decreases.

But so far, none of the hypotheses can claim to be a complete explanation of all cases of reminiscence.

Great encyclopedia of psychiatry. Zhmurov V.A.

Reminiscence (lat. reminiscentia - memory)

1. the general meaning is similar to "memory", except that it is often viewed as involuntary, unconscious retrieval of information, while recollection itself is considered the result of deliberate efforts aimed at purposeful, meaningful retrieval of information from memory;
2. chaotic, spontaneous retrieval from memory of information about some earlier experience; the process is implied to be “slow and enjoyable.”

Neurology. Complete explanatory dictionary. Nikiforov A.S.

Reminiscence is a vague memory during which experienced events are reproduced in memory and their temporal relationships are possibly disrupted.

Oxford Dictionary of Psychology

Reminiscence

1. The general meaning is similar to that of the term recollection, except that it is often seen as the unconscious retrieval of information, while recollection is considered the result of mental efforts to retrieve information from memory.
2. Chaotic, sequential retrieval from memory of information about some earlier experience. The implication is that this process is quite leisurely and enjoyable.
3. Simple: synonym for recall (1).

In meanings 2 and 3 there is no unconscious aspect. See oblivion, loss of information from memory.