My name is Nguyet Ngo and I am one of the ARIA recipients for the Summer 2022 term. This has been an enriching opportunity diving into memory research with my supervisors – Dr. Signy Sheldon and Ms. Lauri Gurguryan. I wanted to apply to an ARIA because it provides an opportunity for McGill undergraduate students to see how research is carried out in the real world. In undergraduate classes, I often read about the results of studies and do not get to see how those data come about and how labs function. ARIA thus is a great chance for me to get a glimpse of academia and gain mentorship from the experts in their field.
My project investigated how having retrieval orientations impacts the content of autobiographical memories. Retrieval orientations are goals or reasons to remember a past event. Specifically, in this project, we wanted to see how participants’ descriptions of the same event would differ when they can recall the event freely, vs. when their goal was to recall only the perceptual details (e.g., It was a sunny day), or only meaning, emotional details (e.g., I was happy seeing my friends). Investigating how we can recall the same event flexibly depending on our current goal applies to areas beyond memory, including eyewitness testimony, therapy, telling a story to a friend vs. a family, etc. Eventually, I hope to publish this study as an academic article soon.
The biggest highlight of the internship is realizing the bigger purpose of my ARIA project. It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day frustration of research, or any other job, and let it derail you from why you want to do this work in the first place. I have run my study so many times to the point of saying the instructions have become second nature, yet sometimes I forget how it can bring joy to others. In the study, participants recalled personal memories that they may have not talked about or thought about in a while. Getting feedback that the study was like a “trip down the memory lane” was very heartwarming as memories are such an integral part of our identities. These interactions reminded me of the importance of memories research – investigating how what, and why we remember, and how this information guide the way individuals think about their experiences.
Another highlight is the events that the AIO has organized for the ARIA recipients. As the pandemic has resulted in online interactions, it was so nice to finally see so many faces in person. Hearing others’ stories – their successes and challenges, has also helped me feel motivated again when I needed a little push near the end of the internship. I am excited to see everyone again in October when we get to present our posters!
Besides these highlights, there were still challenging moments. My daily responsibilities mainly involved dealing with multiple Excel sheets with thousands of rows of data, tasks that required high precision. My mistake was equating accuracy with perfection. I felt burned out towards the end of the internship as this mindset had resulted in me enjoying my time off less as I would still be thinking about the research if “perfection” was not achieved. What was helpful was communicating with my supervisors, who helped revised my goals of what should be done at the end of the internship and how we can carry on the remaining work after. They also encouraged me to only work during certain hours in the day and not go past the ARIA weekly hours limit. Through finding an agreement with my supervisors has helped me feel less overwhelmed and supported during ARIA.
The skills and knowledge I have gained from ARIA will benefit my future in terms of both graduate school and employment. I also want to use my experience to help any curious undergraduate students who want to do research and answer as many questions as possible. I would like to thank Dr. Signy Sheldon and Ms. Lauri Gurguryan for their incredible mentorship throughout the project. I have learned so much more about memory and the value of research thanks to you both. Thank you to Ms. Anne Turner and Ms. Jade Perraud Le Bouter, and other dedicated AIO staff for your support and the behind-the-scene work for students to enjoy a seamless ARIA experience. Lastly, thank you Dr. Alan Ritter and Ms. Jennifer Ellen Nozick for your generosity in creating research opportunities for McGill undergraduate students. Thank you.
