Amended Brief. Memory: Hiding In Plain Sight

This brief has been edited to incorporate the emerging concept of memory and objects. Initial understanding of memory has been developed through academic research (Memory in the real world, cognitive psychology). Insight into current developments into interventions and the incorporation of new technologies has been incoporated as have references to academic text.

Memory: Hiding In Plain Sight

Project Deadline: 17 December

Context:

This project is an exploration of the unnoticed and the overlooked within the process of human interaction with objects. Human memory is a complex system, with massive loss occurring on a daily basis. Some of this information may form an invaluable insight into things such as personal understanding and development, but it is lost. Sharing and communicating this information with the individual themselves or others forms a critical part of this brief.

 Designers are often devising ways to ‘notice the unnoticed’ through techniques such as data mining via the quantified self to see how interventions can be created to enrich understanding of both their own and other people’s lives. This project challenges me to gain a solid academic understanding of how human memory works which is related to every aspect of design; from the design of new interfaces for maximum acceptance to the development of timesaving tools. This project will require the development of existing research techniques and the incorporation of existing psychology techniques into the investigation.

Developing technological understanding to cope with potential informational streams is massively important during the course of this project, as is an appreciation for how to analyse and represent these effectively. Time should be allocated to understand and develop skills within related technologies that emerge throughout the course of the research process, even for experimentation purposes.

Insight:

Memory is a critical process which guides people through their lives, and it is important in determining how individuals interact with the world and each-other. Of particular interest within this project is the way in which we retain information through contact with objects and conversely an examination of what and why we lose information.  There are a group of designers who explore the concept of ‘the quantified self’ who form design interventions based on data collected about themselves and others. Vast arrays of successful interventions have been developed through this process. Attention or analysis is often drawn to information that is overlooked, forgotten or ignored, but the ‘why’ has not been  examined within a design context. Designers who engage with the concept of the ‘quantified self’ collect and collate data streams for various purposes.  What is special about the concept is that even non-designers can get involved i.e. ‘Curetogether’ which is a quantification of the effectiveness of various medical treatments. ‘Pachube’ is one example of mass data collection where anyone can contribute to or use the API to form their own software and often hardware.

The first part of this project is to gain a deep academic understanding of cognitive psychology theory, in particular that of memory. The next stage is to investigate different ways that individuals lose information, what this information is, how it affects them and how it could affect them if it wasn’t lost. It is also of interest to investigate how and what information is saved and what they use it for. Memory that the individual might not notice is being received/retained/accessed (subliminal) through objects is also of interest. What is and could be learnt from the memory hidden in objects, and how it can be extracted and used? The final stage is to be determine a mediating lens within memory in relation to objects, develop a community (whether this is existant or currently non-existent) and starting to work towards an intervention.

Everyone will be regarded as potential test subjects; whether they are aware or unaware participators. An example of this could be the introduction of an object into a space to test the acceptance of it. Creating parallels between subjects, observing parallels and commonalities is extremely important. Perception and recognition also plays a part and will be investigated through the course of the research.

Objectives:

Understand memory in relation to objects then break it down into critical areas of interest. To then research, design and test an intervention. A part of this is to also develop research techniques, analytical skills and technical skills. Researching and implementing techniques from academics i.e. ‘verbal protocols’-Gillian Cohen ‘Memory in the real world’ or ‘self reports’. Appreciation of criticism for various techniques i.e. that verbal protocol can potentially slow/change processes and the validity of them is extremely important. This project will examine user’s engagement with objects and spaces around them and to how they interact with their environment. A community or spatial area will be identified in the course of this project, once parallels between individuals have been established. Understanding the importance of the individual is just as important as understanding the community as a whole, and respecting their differences. A wide range of different people will be engaged with during the course of this project.

Reading:

Cognitive Psychology: Christopher C. French & Andres M. Colman. Chapter 1: Memory

Memory in the Real World: Gillian Cohen.

Cognitive Psychology; Mind and Brain: E. Smith & S. Kosslyn

Interface Fantasy-A Lacanian Cyborg Ontology: Andre Nusselder

Cognition and reality: Principles and implications of cognitive psychology.

Further Reading:

 A cognitive psychology of mass communication - RJC Harris

Museum trip & Exploring memory: Objects

Today an investigation into objects and memory was conducted via an on-site trip to the V&A and Natural History Museum. A museum is a place which in a way stores physical representations of memories, which is why museum were chosen as site of interest.

The field of objects within memory has emerged within memory and interests me, but i wanted to take a step away from in and do some more general reading to understand memory. Memory, however, is such a broad subject that a focus at this stage may help to develop the thought and design process.

I am currently reading cognitive psychology and memory in the real world, and it has created some invaluable insights.

Memory and the Real World

'Einstein and McDaniel (1990) have distinguished between two kinds of prospective memory on the basis of cues that trigger retrieval. Time-prospective memory requires performance either at a specific time or after some period of time has elapsed. In event-based retrospective memory this action is cued by an object, person or event (e.g. putting on your coat reminds you to take it to the cleaners).

Insight: Not only can objects hold memory in their own right, but they can also be reference points to other memories.

Our perception and understanding of objects relies heavily on past knowledge of similar items, any expertise in related history as well as what we can deduce from its physical properties and circumstantial evidence. When presented with this exhibit from the natural history museum, i used my retrospective memory to work out if I'd seen anything previously that was similar, and to see if i knew anything about the period that was relevant. It turned out that they were utensils from a dressing room, and formed part of something called 'toilet service'. Knowing this, if i every come across anything similar i will reference this memory in my formulation for new judgements.

Memory in objects:

Physical object memory: foam. Shape memory materials (materials hat 'remember' their original shapes, and return to the shape even after manipulation.

The examples below are from the v&a (11/11/2011)

1. Casting of a sculpture

2. This was sculpted from foam, but is slightly different in that it has had other materials applied over the top to keep it in it specific shape.

These two objects got me thinking about the memory that objects hold about whatever created them.

 

Objects that hold memories about whatever created them:

Bullets: Ballistic fingerprinting.

Scientists are able to match bullet casings (in theory) to the exact gun that fired them due to tiny discrepancies between every gun ever made.

Deduction and 'cold' reading is also of interest. Sherlock Holmes the fictional character was able to deduce huge amounts of information about a person from piecing together clues from their attire.


The natural history museum was filled with examples of object memory, and attempted to create positive associations that children would remember through interactive exhibitions.

Students also utilised their natural deductive ability to make judgements about the brand new objects that they were coming into contact with. There was a sensor controlled shaking earthquake simulator that would not go off without having enough people in it (or until the old users of the space left to make room for new ones). The children immediately deduced that they needed more people to get this fascinating new object to work!




Areas of interest:

Muscle memory  - the ability to use complicated objects despite a time gulf.

The bag test: What can be learnt about people from their belongings. What assumptions to people make about others from their possessions.

First Reworking of the Brief

Thanks to feedback, the brief has been reworked. The concept of memory has been detached from objects at the moment, but this will be further explored through two museum visits and through reading academic texts. This is part of my plan to explore the field of memory and its relevance within advances in design.

The Brief

Memory: Hiding In Plain Sight

Project Deadline: 17 December

Context:

This project is an exploration of the unnoticed and the overlooked within personal memories. Human memory is a complex system, with massive loss occurring on a daily basis. Some of this information may form an invaluable insight into things such as personal understanding and development, but it is lost. Sharing and communicating this information with the individual themselves or others forms a critical part of this brief.

 Designers are often devising ways to ‘notice the unnoticed’ through techniques such as data mining via the quantified self to see how interventions can be created to enrich understanding of both their own and other people’s lives. This project challenges me to gain a solid academic understanding of how human memory works which is related to every aspect of design; from the design of new interfaces for maximum acceptance to the development of time saving tools. This project will require me to develop and tailor my existing research techniques and incorporate existing psychology techniques into my own investigation.

Developing technological understanding to cope with potential informational streams is massively important during the course of this project, as is an appreciation for how to analyse and represent these effectively. Time should be allocated to understand and develop skills within related technologies that emerge throughout the course of the research process, even for experimentation purposes.

Insight:

Memory is a critical process which guides people through their lives, and it is important in determining how individuals interact with the world and each-other. Of particular interest within this project is the way in which we retain information and conversely an examination of what and why we lose information.  There are a group of designers who explore the concept of ‘the quantified self’ who form design interventions based on data collected about themselves and others. Attention or analysis is often drawn to information that is usually overlooked or ignored. Data streams are collected and collated: ‘pachube’ is one example of mass data collection where anyone can contribute to or use the API to form their own software and often hardware.

The first part of this project is to gain a deep academic understanding of cognitive psychology theory, in particular that of memory. The next stage is to investigate different ways that individuals lose information, what this information is, how it affects them and how it could affect them if it wasn’t lost. It is also of interest to investigate how and what information is saved and what they use it for. Memory that the individual might not notice is being received/retained (subliminal) is also of interest. The final stage is to be determine a mediating lens within memory, develop a community (whether this exists or is currently non-existent) and starting to work towards an intervention.

I will need to consider everyone you come into contact with as test subjects; whether they are aware or non-aware participators. An example of this could be the introduction of an object into a space to test the acceptance of it. Creating parallels between subjects, observing parallels and commonalities is extremely important. Perception and recognition also plays a part and will be investigated through the course of the research.

Objectives:

Understanding memory and to break it down in to critical areas of interest. To then research, design and test an intervention. A part of this is to also develop research techniques, analytical skills and technical skills. Part of this project will examine user’s engagement with objects and spaces around them to investigate memory, as this is essentially only possible when individuals interact with their environment. A community or spatial are will be identified in the course of this project, once parallels between individuals have been established. Understanding the importance of the individual is just as important as understanding the community as a whole, and respecting their differences. You will engage with a wide range of different people during the course of this project to thoroughly investigate the subject matter.

Reading:

Cognitive Psychology: Christopher C. French & Andres M. Colman. Chapter 1: Memory

Memory in the Real World: Gillian Cohen.

Cognitive Psychology; Mind and Brain: E. Smith & S. Kosslyn

Interface Fantasy-A Lacanian Cyborg Ontology: Andre Nusselder

Cognition and reality: Principles and implications of cognitive psychology.

Further Reading:

 A cognitive psychology of mass communication - RJC Harris

Reworking the brief

After receiving the brief feedback, the concept of memory will be detached from that of digital or non-digital artefacts. The brief needs to incorporate academic memory theory, recent developments in the technology field related to memory, current and potential interventions.

A rough outline of research steps:

1. understanding how human memory works (academic research) factors/significance
2. investigating these theories (personal research)
once human memory is understood, understanding of 'the overlooked' i.e. things that are not remembered much or at all/things that influence but are not remembered
3. Investigating the overlooked (personal research)
4. Developing an intervention

The working title of my brief is 'Memory: Hiding in plain sight'

Area of interest: overlooked memories. The quantified self: using data from an individual’s/a group of individuals lives

Cognitive Psychology & Memory Research

Cognitive Psychology', Edited by C. French and A. Colman.

C. French was the senior lecturer in Psychology at goldsmiths college. Some very interesting concepts have come up.


The memory flow. Adapted from Atkins and Shiffrin, 1971

 The 'working' memory concept as described in this book models the way in which we access, store and manipulate information for short periods of time.. There is a concept called the 'Central Executive' which utilises the 'Visio-Spatial Sketchpad' which 'is used for setting up and manipulating visual images' as well a the 'Articulatory Loop' which is a system that holds and utilises inner speech.

To explain the concept of the working memory further, the book gives the example of trying to count how many windows there are in your home (without physically doing it of course). Most people do this by forming a visual image of the house either from the inside or outside, and count how many there are. The visual-spatial sketchpad sets up and manipulates the image whilst the articulatory loop in involved in the process of sub vocal counting i.e. counting in your head and 'saying' them to yourself in your head.

Integrating  this into the questionnaire could prove quite interesting. I want to include a question about how the test subjects decided on their most precious items, and also how they decided on their most precious people and how they might compare.

The final questionnaire in available here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HTQN35W

There are a few quantitative questions at the start i.e. age. There is also a question about whether the subject is an only child: to balance this against whether they select a sibling as their choice to save from a burning building. There is also a set of multiple choice questions about how they came to this decision.


Below: Visualisation of the central executive and its relationship between the visual-spatial sketchpad and the articulatory loop. Interesting to see how the articulatory loop is defined as a separate entity to the sketchpad, separated by the central executive.

Below:

Memory: can be Semantic or Episodic (TULVING 1972).

Semantic: The conscious recollection of a personally experienced event i.e. meeting someone a year ago.
Episodic: memory or knowledge of the world i.e. how many inches there are in a foot.

Developing my area of interest/mediating lens: memories are 'lost' temporarily and permanently. How to retrieve them or should we retrieve them at all? Working title. Memory: Hidden in Plain Sight'. To explore further the loss that occurs between episodic and long term memory-what we select, how much influence the conscious decision to remember has on whether we remember things, emotional and historical significance.



Prospective and Autobiographical memory

Prospective: remembering to do things
Autobiographical: capacity to remember events in our own lives

Cross-referencing this with the definition of prospective memory from 'Memory in the Real World'-Gillian Cohen

Prospective memory: Stores intentions and plans. Remember to actually perform the intended actions and keep track of ongoing actions and of the actions we intend to carry out in the future.

Different people have different amounts of ability.

Case study: Older people seem to have a stronger autobiographical memory , but the evidence does not support this observation. Older people tend to 'remisce' more, so they bring forward memories to where they are quickly accessible on a regular basis. Younger people have been observed to think less about the past, are less nostalgic, so have a harder time recovering information from the past.

Case study: Older people are consistently more reliable than the young at remembering to make a phone call to the experimenter at a specific time of day. They live more structured lives, and therefore this may compensate for a possibly poorer memory.


There are  various established techniques to conduct memory research. The next post will delve into these further.


 

Test Questionnaire: Burning Building & Cognitive Psychology research

A short test questionnaire was designed to examine the types of responses, and to adapt the questionnaire in light of these. The questionnaire was designed to have no lead-in questions. It was tested on two test subjects.

It is entitled 'the burning building test' due to the context that the subjects are introduced to.

A. Which three objects/entities would you remove from a burning building?
B. Why?
C. How often are you in contact with these objects?
D. Which three people would you remove from a burning building? Why?

The first measurable response i got was that both people had more than three family members. The questionnaire was not designed to force people decide between their children or between siblings, so in the next questionnaire it will be made clear that you can group 'siblings' as one answer, or 'parents' or 'children'. However it will be requested that no other groups are put together like this i.e. 'friends' as what will happen is that everyone will say a combination of 'parents', children', 'siblings' or 'friends'. The test is mainly focused on objects as it would make sense that most people would select the same group of important people, but i am interested in seeing if some peoples answers are different.

The second thing i noticed was the tendency to 'group' items together i.e. putting the laptop and phone together. In the real questionnaire it will be asked of test subjects that they only select a single item.

Initial results: Test subject 1

A: University books & notes; Laptop/phone; Clothes & Makeup
B: Important for final year achievements, Important for final year achievements/Communication, 'Important as my appearance is important to me'
C: Every day (all same)
D: Parents, Siblings, Boyfriend

Initial results: Test subject2

A: Passport, Bank Paperwork, Handbag
B: Signifies freedom, Ability to effect freedom, day to day artefact's of life
C: few times a year, Always on hand, daily
D: Child, Child, Two children as one

Note: the test subject did not want or try to choose between children which is completely normal, and the test conditions were changed to allow for this.

NEXT STAGES: Incorporating memory theory research into the questionnaire

Quantified self tracking tool archive

http://quantifiedself.com/guide/tools?sort=reviews&pg=2

A catalogue of 477 and counting existing purchasable software and hardware data capturing/analysis/tracking tools. 

http://80bitesdiet.com/app

A fascinating concept. 

80Bites a day… who says that's all you need? The Harvard School of Public Health, the U.S. Government, registered dietitians, weight loss programs and smart chefs, to name a few!

The 80Bites App goes hand in hand with the 80Bites Diet. The first step in managing your weight is determining how much you're actually eating each day.

This sleek, simple, "pedometer for your mouth" makes it easy to monitor your consumption. Just tap the screen in rhythm with bites eaten. Within one week, you'll know if you're overeating. You'll also be on the road to understanding your body's hunger cues, so portion control will come naturally.

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