3 Review(s)

Memory: Phenomena, Experiment and Theory provides a lively but comprehensive account of modern experimental and theoretical approaches to the study of human memory. Throughout, the book integrates experimental findings with neuropsychological and neurophysiological data and describes a wide range of fascinating memory phenomena. A central theme of the book concerns the organisation of memory. The idea that memory is composed of a series of structures is contrasted with process accounts of how memory works. There is a substantial account of the explicit/implicit distinction in memory research - an area that has been the centre of much recent experimentation and debate. A long chapter on remembering and forgetting describes recent theoretical accounts of retrieval and provides an account of a wide range of forgetting phenomena including the effects of mood, repression and multiple personality. Additional chapters are devoted to imagery and the working memory approach, and the final two chapters examine memory development and explain how and why memory changes in later life.The book is intended primarily as an intermediate text for undergraduate and postgraduate psychology students but its interdisciplinary approach and accessible style will also make it of interest to others, such as neurologists, clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, for whom some understanding of memory research is required.