with a failure to encode, poor memory for traumatic events could be due to a reluctance to retrieve unpleasant memories, but overall there is very little difference between memories for positive vs traumatic events. Memory in social contexts Hyman has done several studies researching the effects of social context on memory, including a study on the effect of humor on memory where it was found that pun humor increased recognition and recall memory due to the poignancy of the pun and the necessarily small amount of important 'to-be-remembered' information that it contains. A related study showed that when participants in an experiment remembered a story in the context of a conversation with a peer they made more personal connections and offered more memory support than when speaking with an experimenter. Both of these findings are important because they are widely applicable in many fields, and can be of general use to related areas such as education to help improve retention techniques amongst students. Did You See the Unicycling Clown? In 2009, Ira Hyman conducted one of his most widely cited studies along with S. Matthew Boss, Breanne M. Wise, Kira E. McKenzie and Jenna M. Coggiano. The article was called "Did you see the Unicycling Clown? Inattentional Blindness while Walking and Talking on a Cell Phone." The researchers had a clown unicycle around a plaza on a college campus, and observed the students walking through the plaza. They interviewed students after they had been exposed to the clown, and found that only a quarter of those using a cell phone saw the clown. They compared this to three other groups: those walking alone, those listening to music, and those walking in a pair or group. They found that it wasn't the use of an electronic device that impaired the students attention, because more than twice as many students saw the clown while listening to music, than while on the phone. They concluded that it is using a cell phone, and having to divide attention between the conversation and the surroundings, what makes people less likely to notice the clown. They observed that many of the students using their cells walked slower, changed directions more often and weaved more than other students. They also noted that individuals walking in pairs were more likely to notice the clown, simply because they could also rely on their companion to pay attention, and that