ABSTRACT
The study of everyday memory is concerned with how people use memory in their daily lives. Memory research should strive for generalisability and representativeness. The distinction between traditional and everyday memory research is imprecise. Autobiographical memories generally have greater personal significance and complexity than episodic memories. Autobiographical memory helps to maintain social bonds and a sense of self-continuity. According to the self-memory system model, autobiographical information is stored hierarchically. An individual's goals and personality influence the retrieval of autobiographical memories. Autobiographical memories can be accessed via direct or generative retrieval. Eyewitness memory is influenced by several factors, including confirmation bias, stress and ageing. Prospective memory involves successive stages of intention formation, monitoring, cue detection, intention retrieval and retrieval execution. According to preparatory attentional and memory processes theory, successful prospective memory performance always requires monitoring for targets. Evidence from brain-damaged patients and functional neuroimaging indicates that the frontal lobes have a central role in prospective memory.
