PSYC FPX 3500 assessment 1

Popular Versus Scholarly Sources Worksheet

Directions:

• Select a popular source like a video or web page on a topic of cognitive psychology from your course textbook.
• Provide the full reference to the source.
• Write out the content of the source in bullet points in full sentences or a 5–8 sentence paragraph.
• Name at least three peer-reviewed articles on the subject of the source and explain how they relate to the subject. Provide full APA-style references for the articles.
• Compare and contrast data in the source with data in the three articles by responding to the following questions:
• What data provided by the popular source is supported by evidence or information provided in the articles?
• What if there is any data in the articles that contradicts the popular source?
• Is your media source credible, in your opinion? Why or why not?
• What questions do you have about the subject based on your analysis?
• How can the topic you researched be applied in real life? Give examples as well. Lastly, complete all the pages of this worksheet, including the self-evaluation. Please use full sentences (grammar is important), supporting evidence from a proper source, and APA-style references.

Media Evaluation Directions Responses

Selected Topic:

The relationship between trauma and Episodic Memory.

Complete Reference for the Source:

NICABM. (2019, May 19). How trauma hijacks a client’s memory, with Peter Levine. YouTube. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://youtu.be/3woCwkBcKwk

Summary of the Content:

Peter Levine showed that traumatic experiences can tend to significantly impact memory and touched on this briefly as far as how trauma directly influences one’s episodic memory. Episodic memories, which are experience-based, can last for almost infinity due to traumatic experiences. The mind is capable of suppressing these experiences as a means of protection, but this will cause gaps in one’s psyche and lead to confusion and dissociation.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:

• Brewin, C. R. (2014). Episodic memory, perceptual memory, and their interaction: Foundations for a theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychological Bulletin, 140(1), 69-97. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033722
• Dolcos, F., Iordan, A. D., Kragel, J., Stokes, J., Campbell, R., McCarthy, G., & Cabeza, R. (2013). Neural correlates of opposing effects of emotional distraction on working memory and episodic memory: An event-related FMRI investigation. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 293-293. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00293
• Forest, M., & Blanchette, I. (2018). Memory for neutral, emotional and trauma-related information in sexual abuse survivors. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 9(1), 1476439-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2018.1476439

Relevance of Articles:

• The first article discusses theories of PTSD and memory system-trait interaction and traumatic experience, right on the subject.
• The second article explores the neural mechanism of emotion-enhanced episodic memory and impairment of working memory after traumatic experience.
• The third article examines how trauma affects episodic memory for victims of sexual abuse, having some insight into long-term effects from traumatic experience. 

PSYC FPX 3500 Assessment 1 Popular Versus Scholarly Sources

Comparison and Contrast:

• Popular source’s assumption of mind avoidance of traumatic event aligns with evidence that verifies enhanced memory for emotionally arousing events, asserts Brewin (2014).
• However, Dolcos et al. (2013) suggest that emotional distracters might negatively influence episodic memory in general, conceivably counteracting the idea of selective suppression of memory by the popular source.
• On the basis of validity, the media source provides valid information supported by empirical findings, according to Forest and Blanchette (2018), confirming the impact of trauma on episodic memory.

Questions Raised:

Even if gaps do arise out of trauma, can some event memories ever fully be regained?

Application to the Real World:

Understanding how episodic memory collides with trauma can foster tolerance and empathy, especially where inconsistency in memory exists. For instance, in court proceedings involving trauma victims, understanding mechanisms of memory can inform choices regarding witness testimony credibility.