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Contributions from autobiographical memory to lexical representation McKinnon, Audrey Alison
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of the interaction between autobiographical memory and lexical representation in semantic memory. To evaluate whether improved lexical access could be due to a reduction of cognitive load, the effects of discourse type on lexical specificity were also examined. The data were obtained from conversations with a subject diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease. Measures of informativeness using the Correct Information Unit analysis (Nicholas & Brookshire, 1993) and lexical specificity using a noun specificity analysis, noun classification analysis and unique adjective analysis were used to analyze texts representing recent and remote, personal and public memories, and across discourse types (a procedure, a fairytale, events, descriptions). The results showed that the personal memory texts had the greatest informativeness and lexical specificity across memory types. The remote-recent memory distinction varied, but the remote memories generally led to better lexical specificity than the recent ones. Finally, discourse type did not have an effect on lexical specificity, but did not have an effect on informativeness. The conclusion was that there are connections between semantic memory and autobiographical that lead to improved access and to use of lexically specific words.
Item Metadata
Title |
Contributions from autobiographical memory to lexical representation
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1996
|
Description |
The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of the interaction between
autobiographical memory and lexical representation in semantic memory. To evaluate
whether improved lexical access could be due to a reduction of cognitive load, the effects of
discourse type on lexical specificity were also examined.
The data were obtained from conversations with a subject diagnosed with probable
Alzheimer's disease. Measures of informativeness using the Correct Information Unit
analysis (Nicholas & Brookshire, 1993) and lexical specificity using a noun specificity
analysis, noun classification analysis and unique adjective analysis were used to analyze
texts representing recent and remote, personal and public memories, and across discourse
types (a procedure, a fairytale, events, descriptions).
The results showed that the personal memory texts had the greatest informativeness
and lexical specificity across memory types. The remote-recent memory distinction varied,
but the remote memories generally led to better lexical specificity than the recent ones.
Finally, discourse type did not have an effect on lexical specificity, but did not have an
effect on informativeness. The conclusion was that there are connections between semantic
memory and autobiographical that lead to improved access and to use of lexically specific
words.
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Extent |
3897287 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-03-06
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0087593
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1997-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.