The Memories That Suddenly Return

Have you ever smelled a particular scent, heard a melody, tasted a familiar flavor, or touched an object and suddenly remembered an experience from the distant past?

Sometimes, a memory appears unexpectedly, bringing you back to a particular moment in your life and allowing you to relive the emotions you once felt.

This questionnaire aims to explore the relationship between sensory experiences and personal memories, providing data for an information visualization project on the phenomenon known as the Proustian Moment.

The questionnaire is anonymous, and the data collected will be used solely for design research. Please answer based on your own experiences. If you have never experienced anything similar, you may select the appropriate option.
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1.

What is your age group?

＜18
18-35
＞35
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2.

What is your current occupation?

Student
Employed
Self-employed / Freelancer
Other
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3.

Have you ever experienced a memory being unexpectedly triggered by a sensory experience?

Frequently
Occasionally
Rarely
Never / Not sure
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4.

Which of the following sensory experiences have ever triggered personal memories for you?

【多选题】
Smell (e.g., the aroma of food, perfume, or the scent of rain)
Sound (e.g., music, someone's voice, or environmental sounds)
Taste (e.g., the flavor of a particular food)
Sight (e.g., a scene, photograph, or color)
Touch (e.g., the texture of a fabric or object)
Other sensory experiences
None of the above
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5.

Which sense is most likely to trigger a strong and sudden memory for you?

Smell
Sound
Taste
Signt
Touch
Not sure
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6.

How do these memories usually arise?

They appear suddenly and unexpectedly, without any conscious effort.
They emerge naturally after I encounter a particular object, sensation, or experience.
They mainly arise when I deliberately try to remember something.
All of the above
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7.

 Which period of your life do these memories usually relate to?

Childhood
Adolescence
The past few years
Different periods of my life
Not sure
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8.

What kinds of life experiences or settings are these memories usually associated with?

Family and loved ones
School and friends
Travel and unfamiliar places
Food and everyday life
Significant life events
Other / Cannot be categorized
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9.

What emotions do you usually experience when these memories suddenly return?

Nostalgia, warmth, or longing
Happiness or joy
Sadness or a sense of loss
Mixed or complicated emotions
No strong emotional response
Other
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10.

How vivid are these memories when they are triggered?

Extremely vivid, almost as if I am reliving the experience.
Fairly vivid, with specific details coming back to me.
Somewhat vague; I can only recall the general situation.
I mainly experience an emotion or a sense of familiarity, with few specific details.
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11.

Have you ever been reminded of past experiences by digital media?

Frequently
Sometimes
Rarely
Never

For example, hearing an old song, seeing an old photograph, watching a video from the past, or receiving a digital memory notification.

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12.

Which types of digital media content are most likely to bring back memories for you?

【多选题】
Music / Audio
Old photographs / Images
Short videos / Footage
Social media posts
Chat histories / Text messages
Photo gallery memory notifications
Video games / Virtual environments
Other
None of the above
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13.

Compared with sensory stimuli in the physical world, what do you think is distinctive about the way digital media triggers memories?

Digital media makes it easier to deliberately search for and revisit memories.
Physical sensory experiences, such as smells and sounds, are more likely to trigger sudden memories.
Both have their own distinctive characteristics.
There is no significant difference.
Not sure
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14.

If you feel comfortable sharing, please describe a memorable experience in which a memory suddenly came back to you.

What triggered the memory? What did you remember? How did you feel at the time?

For example: I smelled a familiar dish and suddenly remembered having dinner with my family as a child.

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