The effects of end-of-day picture review and a sensor-based picture capture procedure on autobiographical memory using SenseCam

Abstract

Emerging “life-logging” technologies have tremendous potential to augment human autobiographical memory by recording and processing vast amounts of information from an individual's experiences. In this experiment undergraduate participants wore a SenseCam, a small, sensor-equipped digital camera, as they went about their normal daily activities for five consecutive days. Pictures were captured either at fixed intervals or as triggered by SenseCam's sensors. On two of five nights, participants watched an end-of-day review of a random subset of pictures captured that day. Participants were tested with a variety of memory measures at intervals of 1, 3, and 8 weeks. The most fruitful of six measures were recognition rating (on a 1–7 scale) and picture-cued recall length. On these tests, end-of-day review enhanced performance relative to no review, while pictures triggered by SenseCam's sensors showed little difference in performance compared to those taken at fixed time intervals. We discuss the promise of SenseCam as a tool for research and for improving autobiographical memory.

Keywords:

• Autobiographical memory
• Experiences
• Events
• Life-logging
• SenseCam
• Photographs

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was supported by a grant from Microsoft Research, Ltd., Cambridge, UK (grant # 2007-066), and from the National Institute of Health to ASB (grant # R01 AG026263). We thank Ellen Brewer for comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Special thanks to James Scott, Gavin Smyth, Alex Butler, and Steve Hodges for superb technical support.