This study examined personal memories of statements spoken in everyday contexts. Eighty college students completed a questionnaire in which they recounted the first spoken statement to come to mind, and statements made by a parent, teacher, sibling and friend. Respondents also provided information about the speakers and the circumstances of transmission. Content analyses identified six primary statement types: rules, evaluations, speaker information, pronouncements, unusual phrases and everyday speech. The incidence of different statement types varied across speakers. Memorability of a specific verbalization appears to be related to the statement's communicative function, the listener's reactions to the utterance, the speaker's gender, and the relationship between the speaker and the listener.
Verbal interactions are an essential part of everyday existence. We discuss the day's plans with family members, chat with colleagues over lunch, follow the boss's orders, or confide in a close friend. While an occasional conversation has special significance, most are mundane, routine occurrences. Are specific statements remembered for long periods of time? What makes a spoken statement memorable? How are such statements organized in memory? The present study explored these questions.
Laboratory research has indicated that the exact words of a statement endure in memory only long enough to process meaning, while memory for the gist of a statement is more long-lasting. Since the precise words uttered often are not essential for conveying meaning, the original sentence is lost as soon as its message is comprehended (Jarvella, 1971;Sachs, 1967).
Experiments conducted in naturalistic settings challenge this basic premise.