Transactional memory….

Some time ago, I read about ‘Transactional Memory’, which posits that the memory of a traumatic event is mapped into the various senses of the body. The example given was that of a divorce. It stated that it is transactional memories such as a shared moment at the checkout counter of a supermarket, a laugh at a fast food outlet, an argument at the cinema, etc., that make it difficult for divorcees to simply forget the estranged relationship. Even muscles remember certain traumas.

I believe, transactional memory is just as important for those of us in the learning field. Let me share an example.

Last year, when I had to mix recreational travel with work, I was often in the business centre of different hotels or using different wireless service providers to connect with my portable netbook. In the process, I had to remember passwords, various navigations etc. What got me thinking is how my memory of my personal passwords was affected by the environment.

In the daily routine at my own work desk, I can easily recall the 5 or 6 passwords I use for different applications. But without that routine, the familiar set up of the machines / keyboards, the usual way my computers load up [sequence of programmes], my ability to recall those passwords somehow got affected.

I believe this is also a form of transactional memory. I suppose it would be most relevant for helping psychomotor skills. However, we should not undermine its influence in cognitive or affective forms of learning. How should we design learning to include the influence of transactional memories?

That is one aspect of analysis that hardly got any attention.

In fact transaction memory is a major challenge for change management initiatives.

Take for example the story I shared in an earlier blog entry about a road called Cemetery Road. That road used to lead towards a cemetery and was named accordingly. Now the cemetery is gone but the road name remains. Those who lived there for many years have accepted the road name. However, one family who just moved into the area decided to lobby for a name change. The new family does not know that in reality they would be battling the transactional memories of the entire community, who is used to locating, navigating, or parking along ‘Cemetery Road’. A new road name would not be a necessity for most of them.

The names of many cities or provinces in China were named in relation to rivers, mountains, lakes, and compass direction. Though not as relevant today, the names remain: Beijing being the ‘north city’, Nanking being the ‘south city’, Shandong being ‘east of the mountain’, Shanxi being ‘west of the mountain’, Wuxi being ‘west of the lake’ etc. [if I am wrong, please kindly correct my interpretation]

The field of learning is really much much wider than some commercially minded advocates would have us believe.