Memories fade with time. From birth to death, the entire human life cycle encompasses multiple events that progress through various stages of memory, including sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory, before they are ultimately forgotten. While the academicians still debate over the true nature of forgetting a memory, it is undeniable that memory declines with age as a direct result of the deterioration of cognition. Yet, social norms, cultural imprints and patterns always seem to outlast the dilapidated nature of cognition.
Cultures and traditions have originated many centuries ago, yet continue to persist and impact life today. They leave their imprint on every mind they come in contact with and can survive despite the deterioration of the mind. Rituals, customs, expectations, norms and more survive even when diseases ail the mind. Upon greater thought, one is urged to understand how culture and patriarchal imprints survive cognitive decline.
Read More: Understanding Short-Term and Long-Term Memory: How We Retain What Matters
Understanding Cognitive Decline
Cognition is defined as “the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and the senses” (Dhakal & Bobrin, 2023). Cognition consists of the levels of intellectual functioning and processes, ranging from attention and memory to judgment, perception, language, decision-making, and more. Only with the help of cognition can an organism truly survive. However, cognition and the capabilities of the human mind slowly deteriorate with age, which is known as cognitive decline (Silva et al., 2023).
The gradual loss of abilities to think, which impacts an individual’s ability to learn, remember, pay attention, or even reason, is commonly associated with cognitive decline (MFA, 2024). While cognitive decline is significantly related to increasing age, injuries, illnesses, and health habits can also impact the rate of decline. The severity of cognitive decline has allowed it to be categorised into multiple stages, as mentioned:
- NCI (No Cognitive Impairment): Cognition functions optimally (Mfa, 2024).
- SCI (Subjective Cognitive Decline): Cognition has begun to mildly falter but leaves no effect on daily functioning (Mfa, 2024).
- MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment): Cognition has declined and begun to impact daily functioning (MFA, 2024).
- Dementia: Cognition has significantly declined to levels that it is considered an illness (MFA, 2024).
Read More: Geropsychology in India: Addressing Cognitive Decline, Loneliness, and Ageism
Why does Culture Survive?
With cognitive decline, an individual will lose the ability to recall names, speak properly, pay attention or even make sound judgments. However, they will still be able to indulge in practices that emerge from culture and tradition. This occurs as a result of the type of memory and its association with cognitive decline. Cultural and patriarchal impressions form implicit memory, also known as unconscious or automatic memory, which does not need to be purposefully remembered to be used (Cherry, 2024). This type of memory consists of habits, routines, customs, and traditions that are conditioned and do not require active recall to be practised. Essentially, implicit memory, once learnt through conditioning or observation, is never recalled but becomes ingrained in the individual’s system.
Research suggests that other forms of memory, such as explicit memories, decline with age. However, implicit memory remains constant after a certain point in adulthood (Ward & Shanks, 2018). Ward et al. (2013) suggest that implicit memory is not dependent on age and is typically not affected by cognitive decline. Multiple experiments, research, and other literature also suggest that ageing is likely to impair performance on tasks that involve explicit memories and not implicit memories (Rybash, 1996).
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Culture and Patriarchy Surviving the Test of Time
It is undeniable that culture and patriarchy leave a significant imprint on the human mind. It is only when the process of cultural conditioning takes place that the imprint becomes an unconscious reality for the individual. Cultural conditioning is the unconscious process through which individuals internalise beliefs, behaviours, values, and norms of their cultural group from a young age, which ultimately shapes their attitude, behaviour, cognition, perception, and identity (Feibleman, 1970). The process begins at a very young age through multiple sources, such as immediate family members, education, and various social institutions, which suggest what is acceptable within society.
With the help of cultural conditioning, the various norms set by culture and patriarchy can survive. From a young age, gender roles embedded in patriarchy become more apparent and intertwined with reality. With the woman in the nurturing role, the man in the position of the breadwinner and sons being expected to follow their lead, with daughters being sent off to another family, patriarchy seeps through every interaction. Patriarchal nature and behaviour become habit and soon turn into implicit memory, which persists despite cognitive decline.
According to Clinical Psychologist Poorva Mathur, cultural imprints—such as deeply ingrained traditions, music, language, rituals, and symbols—often play a significant role in preserving a sense of identity for individuals with memory loss, like those with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. This preservation isn’t about recalling explicit facts but rather accessing implicit, emotional layers of the self that endure longer than episodic memories. Human memory operates on a hierarchy: explicit (conscious, factual) memories fade first in conditions like dementia, while implicit (procedural and emotional) memories—shaped by cultural exposure from childhood—can remain intact for years.
Studies have shown that cultural elements like familiar songs and dances activate the brain’s limbic system and basal ganglia, which are more resistant to degeneration than the hippocampus (key for factual recall). For example, a 2019 meta-analysis in The Lancet Psychiatry found that culturally tailored music therapy—using songs from a person’s youth or heritage—can reduce agitation by 25-40%, often evoking joy or recognition.
Though these are powerful tools, they aren’t a cure-all. All benefits vary by individual cultural exposure and dementia stage. In essence, cultural imprints act as an emotional safety net, helping individuals feel anchored to their roots when other memories slip away.
Read More: SILENCING THE SILENCE: Amplifying Women’s Voices in a Patriarchal Society
Conclusion
Even as memory fades, cultural habits and patriarchal patterns often remain, displaying the way society has helped shape an individual. These behaviours and habits carry on due to a form of repetition passed down through generations via routines and social expectations, even if their mechanism is no longer consciously remembered, such as by names, dates, or events. They remind us that identity is built not just from an amalgamation of personal experiences but also from traditions and laws passed down to us by culture. Whatever gets rooted beyond human memory reflects human resilience as well as the eternal impact of society. In a way, impaired memory cannot loosen the human mind; in fact, even in some sort of cognitive decline, the very foundation of these patterns is what organises human behaviour and interaction.
Read More: The Fading Affect Bias: Why Time Makes Our Memories Less Painful
FAQs
1. Does everyone have cognitive decline?
Yes, with age, every individual suffers from a certain extent of cognitive decline. While it may not impact every aspect of cognition, it can have small impacts on certain cognitive functions.
2. Explicit vs Implicit Memory?
Memory exists in two different forms, depending on the type of information stored. Explicit memory consists of facts, events and even people, while implicit memory consists of habits, routines and skills. Explicit memory can fade while implicit memory tends to remain constant.
3. Is it sensible to challenge cultural conditioning?
To challenge cultural conditioning is a double-edged sword. If the individual whose conditioning is to be challenged is in a state where they can let go of their conditioning and opt for a different outlook, it could be good to challenge it. On the other hand, if the individual is simply not in a position to let go of their internalised beliefs, it may cause them lots of distress and anguish.
4. How can we use knowledge of implicit memory?
Understanding implicit and explicit memory is very important, especially in relation to cognitive decline, as it may help caregivers understand their geriatric population better. It can also help clinicians design interventions to suit the older population.
References +
Cherry, K. C. (2024, May 14). Implicit memory vs. explicit memory. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/implicit-and-explicit-memory-2795346
Dhakal, A., & Bobrin, B. D. (2023, February 14). Cognitive Deficits. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559052/
Feibleman, J. K. (1970). Cultural Conditioning. In Springer eBooks (pp. 134–146). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-3165-3_10
MFA, R. J. S. (2024, November 4). Understanding Cognitive Decline: How Your Brain Changes as You Age. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/cognitive-decline#definition
Rybash, J. M. (1996). Implicit memory and ageing: A cognitive neuropsychological perspective. Developmental Neuropsychology, 12(2), 127–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/87565649609540644
Silva, N. C. B. S., Balbim, G. M., Falck, R. S., & Liu-Ambrose, T. (2023). Physical activity interventions in cognitive ageing. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 82–94). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-820480-1.00034-6
Ward, E. V., Berry, C. J., & Shanks, D. R. (2013). Age effects on explicit and implicit memory. Frontiers in Psychology, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00639
Ward, E. V., & Shanks, D. R. (2018). Implicit memory and cognitive ageing. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.378
