Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Advances in Understanding Adaptive Memory

Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Advances in Understanding Adaptive Memory presents the latest theories and research on what is known about adaptive memory, often referred to as survival memory. Conceptually, this is the study of memory systems that evolved to aid remembering survival and fitness-relevant information.

In this volume survival is contextualized from many converging perspectives within psychology, including comparative psychology. Therefore, adaptive memory in animals, especially non-human primates, is covered in one of the book's four sections. The unification of viewpoints is achieved thematically, stemming from forensic science, cognitive neuroscience, biology, computer science, and anthropology. This interdisciplinary approach binds the chapters together and facilitates an integrative analysis of adaptive-survival memory in the concluding chapter.

Michael Toglia, Cornell University,Henry Otgaar, Maastricht University/KU Leuven,Jeanette Altarriba, University at Albany, State University of New York,William Erickson, Texas A&M University - San Antonio

Dr. Michael Toglia, Cornell University, has received SUNY Chancellor's awards for Excellence in Teaching and in Scholarship, served 8 years as Executive Director of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition and visited Mexico as a Fulbright Senior Specialist. He has published extensively on adult cognition topics and lifespan themes in eyewitness memory, including 12 books, most recently Methods, measures, and theories in eyewitness identification tasks. Toglia has considerable experience serving on editorial boards and was an Action Editor for Memory. He holds Fellow status in 6 societies, including the Psychonomic Society and 3 Divisions of APA.


Dr. Henry Otgaar, a professor of legal psychology at Maastricht University and KU Leuven, specializes in memory function concerning eyewitness and perpetrator statements. His research explores developmental changes in memory from childhood to adulthood, emphasizing factors like trauma influencing memory illusions. Otgaar actively collaborates with research groups globally and has earned awards for his research and teaching. His current studies focus on false memories in children and adults, eyewitness memory, repressed and traumatic memory, and interviewing techniques. As the Editor of Memory and a member of editorial boards, including Clinical Psychological Science and Journal of Criminal Psychology, Otgaar significantly contributes to the field.


Dr. Jeanette Altarriba, University at Albany, SUNY, is Professor of Psychology and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Founder and Director of the Cognition and Language Laboratory, and an internationally recognized scholar in the areas of bilingualism, memory, and emotion. She has published more than 90 peer-reviewed articles and 8 books in her field. Her impact is reflected in the many recognitions she has received from student groups and in receiving both campus and SUNY awards for excellence in teaching, research, and service. More recently, she was recognized as a Collins Fellow for her service and contributions to UAlbany over a sustained period of time.


Dr. William Blake Erickson is an associate professor of Psychology at Texas A&M University's San Antonio campus, where he leads the Ecological Research in Cognitive Operations laboratory. His research applying human face recognition to problems related to law enforcement and security interests has produced over 25 published articles and chapters. Active research programs investigate eyewitness memory, forensic imaging, aging, and individual differences. He is also a frequent contributor to the Popular Culture Psychology book series, communicating psychological research and concepts through the lens of such media franchises as Star Trek, Game of Thrones, and Stranger Things.

1. Advances in the Integrative Study of Survival Memory, Michael P. Toglia, William Blake Erickson, Jeanette Altaribba, & Henry OtgaarSection 1- Scenario Studies2. Hunting Prey, Evading Predators, and Finding Mates: Possible Causes of the Animacy Effect in Memory, Juliana K. Leding3. Adaptive Memory Distortions: An Expanding Frontier of Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience, D. Merika W. Sanders & Daniel L. Schacter4. An Examination of the Survival Processing Effect under Conditions that Enhance Elaborative Encoding5. Do Tests of Implicit Memory Challenge Survival Processing Accounts?, Allison M. Wilck & Jeanette Altarriba6. Useful and New: Creativity's Contribution to Adaptive Memory and Survival, Mary C. Avery and Jeanette AltarribaSection 2 - Understanding Adaptive Memory through the Lenses of Anthropology and Comparative Psychology7. The Memory of Crowds: The Evolution of Social Learning and Multilevel Adaptive Knowledge in Early Homo sapiens, Michael J. O'Brien & R. Alexander Bentley8. A Comparative Approach to Investigating Adaptive Memory and Cognitive Processes Across Species, Bonnie M. Perdue, Megan L. Wilson, Terry L. Maple9. Adaptive memory, primates, and human evolution, Ken Sayers & Corinna N. Ross10. Natural Ecology and Comparative Approaches to Human Memory, Bennett L. Schwartz, Pinar Kurdoglu-Ersoy, Kelsey L. Hess & Ali PournaghdaliSection 3 - Age-related Perspectives in Understanding Adaptive Memory11. Developmental Considerations in Survival-Related Memory and Decision-Making Under Conditions of Risk and Uncertainty, Sarah J. McMillana, Joseph S. Venticinquea & Michael P. Toglia12. The Development of Adaptive Memory During Childhood, Lauren M. Knott, Mark L. Howe, Jane Wang, & Henry Otgaar13. On the Adaptative Reliance on Fuzzy Memory Representations in Adult Aging, Nathaniel R. Greene & Moshe Naveh-BenjaminSection 4 - Emerging Perspectives on Adaptive Memory: Cognitive Neuroscience and Forensic Science14. Neurocognitive mechanisms of the survival processing effect, Meike Kroneisen, Glen Forester, & Siri-Maria Kamp15. Survival Processing Advantage as Possible Explanation for Remembering Criminal Events: A Path Forward, · Ivan Mangiulli, Marko Jelicic, Henry Otgaar16. Adaptive Memory Research in Forensic Face Matching and Memory, Dawn R. Weatherford & Kara Moore17. Eyes that Never Blink: Bridging Concepts in Facial Recognition by Humans and Machines, William Blake Erickson & Charlie Frowd18. A Fuzzy-Trace Theory Account of Survival Processing, Daniel M. Bialer, Minyu Chang, Chapter J. Brainerd, Valerie F. ReynaConclusions and Future DirectionsAdaptive Memory: Perspectives, Conclusions, and Future Directions, Jeanette Altarriba, William Blake Erickson, Henry Otgaar, & Michael P. Toglia