Do you know Watzizface?

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I admit it.  I am perfectly abysmal at remembering names.  I go to a meeting, I’m having a good time, meeting lots of people, and then… NOT ONE NAME DO I RECALL.  If you provide me a list of attendees, I can describe each person and what they do or like (dependent upon our conversations).  But, the giving the faces a name… nada.  (But, I can ascribe interests or stories to the faces.)

I’ve done Dale Carnegie.  I’ve learned the techniques.  But, if I am having a good time at the meeting, the conference, the party- whatever- no name recall.  I should tell you that I can recall most of what I read- for decades.  (I need a memory dump!).  It’s just names that I fail to recall.  “Old watzizface” just doesn’t work when I need to reach him (or her).

It turns out there is some science behind this issue.  But, first we need a little background about “memory”.  Working memory is a theoretical concept, but can be likened to  your desktop, where your place important papers and items while working on a project.    It is involved with goal oriented efforts of monitoring or manipulating information and behaviors.  It seems to involve the frontal cortex, the parietal cortex, and anterior cingulate, and basal ganglia portions of our brain.  The concept has been confirmed via fMRI examination of our brains and with lesion experiments in animals.

When we are young (around 5), we can juggle two bits of information simultaneously.  By the time we are adults, that number has plateaued at five bits of information.   It continues through at least our 60’s.  (Significant research has not been effected for folks in their 70’s or older.)  the more scientific measure is obtained via the Running Memory Span (RMS) test.

There have been two slightly conflicting pieces of research on this topic in the past months.   Dr.  Tracy Alloway (University of Stirling, Scotland) presented her results at the British Science Festival (Birmingham) late last year.  She found that people who had good working memories tended to be more optimistic and confident they could cope with problems and situations.  She determined these results by providing questionnaires and psychological tests to 1200 subjects from their late teens into their sixties.  She also found that people with poorer working memories tended to brood, spend more time fixated on their problems, and are subject to depression.

Elizabeth Martin (University of Missouri) is about to be granted her PhD for research about memory (published with her professor, Dr. JG Kerns, in the October 2010 Cognition and Emotion, Volume 25, issue 2). She has determined that when one is in a good mood, our working memory is not as capable, as when we are not.  Actually, the RMS results were depressed for those who viewed a comedy clip, but not those obtained on the Stroop or Flanker task tests.  The latter tests determine the reaction times for tasks and the inability to be distracted during a task, respectively.

So, what do these two studies tell me about my inability to recall names?  It says that my goal/task during a meeting or party is to have a good time and learn about people.   Their names are not as important to me as are who they are.  So, I am not diverted from my tasks.  I juggle their stories and their information in my working memory.  The name never really makes it there.

What’s your story?Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.

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12 thoughts on “Do you know Watzizface?”

  1. Haha! =) Loved this post! I’ve always been curious what other features good working memory is related to. I have to admit, I haven’t done the reading myself. All that I’ve heard in passing is that people who do better on the digit span task have better math abilities. =P So, I’m ecstatic to hear that there are other potential social benefits.

    Just to play devil’s advocate, could Martin’s study have more to do with humor rather than a good mood? Levels of a good mood is very hard to measure. I like to consider myself a very cheerful person, but I do connect most names to faces. Maybe it’s because I consciously detach my mood from working memory — if that’s even possible (I’m just imagining =P). What I mean is that I sometimes repeat the person’s name in my head as they talk to me. I use my working memory while I’m in a good mood chatting with someone. How about that? =P
    Samantha Bangayan recently posted..Waterless Days

    1. Samantha:
      I wondered about the quality of the humor clip and whether the subjects were more interested in remembering the humorour elements or jokes, so they could not juggle the new information in their working memory. I guess that’s the setup for the next research project.
      Roy

  2. Very interesting post, Roy. In a personal development course I once took, we did an exercise about recalling names (I was able to recall them all). Afterwards, the point was made that if we couldn’t recall a name, the message we sent to that person was that we didn’t care enough to remember. It was pretty powerful . . . but I suppose it’s a matter of perspective. To you, the information about the person is more important and that’s OK.
    Leanne Chesser recently posted..Creating a Monthly Calendar for Your Blog

    1. I have never been able to do that- and I know that concept (was part of Dale Carnegie training). But, if that surmisation were true, I would not remember the items I promised to send those folks from the meeting (which is why not recalling their names is such a drag in the first place)!
      Thanks for reading and commenting, Leanne!
      Roy

  3. Roy,

    Interesting research and I can see it! I too have a hard time remembering names and now have a reason why.

    Love this.

    1. Leona- the research implies we have to be having a bad time to remember names…. I’ll stick with needing crutches to remember!
      Roy

  4. Interesting post Roy! I use to be able to recall names very easily, however that ability has diminished over time. If you get their business card at the meeting, then it may be easier to put the name with a face.
    Jennifer recently posted..Headway Themes Killer SEO!

    1. Glad you liked the post. The problem with business cards is (a) where do you keep them and (b) do you put notes on them so you can recall which meeting you met them?

  5. Hi Roy , first time here but your post was very interesting .Memory is a very complex thing and research shows that individuals who play brain games like chess or cards have a better chance of remembering names locations etc than those who don’t.
    EDITORIAL COMMENT: CAVEAT EMPTOR THIS REMAINDER OF THIS REPLY WAS EDITED. YOU ARE WELCOME TO CHECK LIZETTE’S URL (SEE LEFT). THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC DATA TO SUBSTANTIATE THESE CLAIMS. FOR AN EXAMPLE, SEE MY POST HERE (THE POWER OF A PLACEBO) https://www.adjuvancy.com/wordpress/http:/www.adjuvancy.com/wordpress/wins-mental-attitude-placebo-effect/

    Lizette A . in Athens Greece

    1. Lizette:
      Thank you very much for your comment. I am so glad you visited and commented.

      I used the editorial power vested in me to remove the advertisement you added. I did leave your link for those who wish to examine your product. Along with a link to one of my posts about the power of the mind to yield results. I require scientific substantiation for links to be active to readers.

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