List-Method Directed Forgetting in Cognitive and Clinical Research: A Theoretical and Methodological Review
TL;DR: The authors provide an up-to-date review of the twenty-first century research and theory on list-method directed forgetting (DF) and related phenomena like the context-change effect.
Abstract: The primary purpose of this chapter is to provide an up-to-date review of the twenty-first century research and theory on list-method directed forgetting (DF) and related phenomena like the context-change effect. Many researchers have assumed that DF is diagnostic of inhibition, but we argue for an alternative, noninhibitory account and suggest reinterpretation of earlier findings. We first describe what DF is and the state of the art with regard to measuring the effect. Then, we review recent evidence that brings DF into the family of effects that can be explained by global memory models. The process-based theory we advocate is that the DF impairment arises from mental context change and that the DF benefits emerge mainly but perhaps not exclusively from changes in encoding strategy. We review evidence (some new to this paper) that strongly suggests that DF arises from the engagement of controlled forgetting strategies that are independent of whether people believed the forget cue or not. Then we describe the vast body of literature supporting that forgetting strategies result in contextual change effects, as well as point out some inconsistencies in the DF literature that need to be addressed in future research. Next, we provide evidence—again, some of it new to this chapter—that the reason people show better memory after a forget cue is that they change encoding strategies. In addition to reviewing the basic research with healthy population, we reinterpret the evidence from the literature on certain clinical populations, providing a critique of the work done to date and outlining ways of improving the methodology for the study of DF in special populations. We conclude with a critical discussion of alternative approaches to understanding DF.
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TL;DR: A neurobiological model of memory control can inform disordered control over memory and electrophysiological activity during motivated forgetting implicates active inhibition.
380 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest that saving provides a means to strategically off-load memory onto the environment in order to reduce the extent to which currently unneeded to-be-remembered information interferes with the learning and remembering of other information.
Abstract: With the continued integration of technology into people's lives, saving digital information has become an everyday facet of human behavior. In the present research, we examined the consequences of saving certain information on the ability to learn and remember other information. Results from three experiments showed that saving one file before studying a new file significantly improved memory for the contents of the new file. Notably, this effect was not observed when the saving process was deemed unreliable or when the contents of the to-be-saved file were not substantial enough to interfere with memory for the new file. These results suggest that saving provides a means to strategically off-load memory onto the environment in order to reduce the extent to which currently unneeded to-be-remembered information interferes with the learning and remembering of other information.
104 citations
Cites background from "List-Method Directed Forgetting in ..."
...…forgettable— such as by telling participants that they do not have to remember it because they will not be tested on it—not only makes that information less accessible, but it also improves memory for other information (e.g., E. L. Bjork & Bjork, 1996; R. A. Bjork, 1989; Sahakyan et al., 2013)....
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...Research on directed forgetting has shown that making certain information forgettable— such as by telling participants that they do not have to remember it because they will not be tested on it—not only makes that information less accessible, but it also improves memory for other information (e.g., E. L. Bjork & Bjork, 1996; R. A. Bjork, 1989; Sahakyan et al., 2013)....
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TL;DR: A core discovery concerns the role of the prefrontal cortex in exerting top-down control over mnemonic activity in the hippocampus and other brain structures, often via inhibitory control.
Abstract: Over the past century, psychologists have discussed whether forgetting might arise from active mechanisms that promote memory loss to achieve various functions, such as minimizing errors, facilitating learning, or regulating one's emotional state. The past decade has witnessed a great expansion in knowledge about the brain mechanisms underlying active forgetting in its varying forms. A core discovery concerns the role of the prefrontal cortex in exerting top-down control over mnemonic activity in the hippocampus and other brain structures, often via inhibitory control. New findings reveal that such processes not only induce forgetting of specific memories but also can suppress the operation of mnemonic processes more broadly, triggering windows of anterograde and retrograde amnesia in healthy people. Recent work extends active forgetting to nonhuman animals, presaging the development of a multilevel mechanistic account that spans the cognitive, systems, network, and even cellular levels. This work reveals how organisms adapt their memories to their cognitive and emotional goals and has implications for understanding vulnerability to psychiatric disorders.
104 citations
Cites background from "List-Method Directed Forgetting in ..."
...However, directed forgetting and context substitution effects are not identical, exhibiting both parallels and dissociations (Abel & Bäuml 2017, Pastötter et al. 2008, Sahakyan & Kelley 2002, Sahakyan et al. 2013)....
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...Interestingly, !rst-list recall performance suffers after a Forget instruction compared to a Remember instruction, illustrating the directed forgetting effect (for reviews, see Anderson & Hanslmayr 2014, Bäuml et al. 2010, Sahakyan et al. 2013)....
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...Asking people to imagine a novel context right after studying a list (e.g., imagining being invisible) induces forgetting resembling directed forgetting (for a review, see Sahakyan et al. 2013), suggesting that context substitution may suf!ce to explain directed forgetting effects....
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...…one needs to consistently retrieve context inhibition hypothesis builds on in"uential work by Sahakyan and colleagues (Sahakyan & Kelley 2002, Sahakyan et al. 2013) showing that some forms of active forgetting arise from mental context shifts, although the emphasis on inhibition is our own....
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TL;DR: A quantitative review of the literature showed that testing reliably potentiates the future learning of new materials by increasing correct recall or by reducing erroneous intrusions, and several factors have a powerful impact on whether testing potentiates or impairs new learning.
Abstract: A growing body of research has shown that retrieval can enhance future learning of new materials. In the present report, we provide a comprehensive review of the literature on this finding, which we term test-potentiated new learning. Our primary objectives were to (a) produce an integrative review of the existing theoretical explanations, (b) summarize the extant empirical data with a meta-analysis, (c) evaluate the existing accounts with the meta-analytic results, and (d) highlight areas that deserve further investigations. Here, we identified four nonexclusive classes of theoretical accounts, including resource accounts, metacognitive accounts, context accounts, and integration accounts. Our quantitative review of the literature showed that testing reliably potentiates the future learning of new materials by increasing correct recall or by reducing erroneous intrusions, and several factors have a powerful impact on whether testing potentiates or impairs new learning. Results of a metaregression analysis provide considerable support for the integration account. Lastly, we discuss areas of under-investigation and possible directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
67 citations
TL;DR: High-frequency activity is measured in subjects undergoing direct brain recordings and found that hippocampal HFA dissociated based on both the stimulus evidence presented and the response choice, indicating that the hippocampus supports both the recollection and familiarity processes.
Abstract: Despite a substantial body of work comprising theoretical modeling, the effects of medial temporal lobe lesions, and electrophysiological signal analysis, the role of the hippocampus in recognition memory remains controversial. In particular, it is not known whether the hippocampus exclusively supports recollection or both recollection and familiarity—the two latent cognitive processes theorized to underlie recognition memory. We studied recognition memory in a large group of patients undergoing intracranial electroencephalographic (iEEG) monitoring for epilepsy. By measuring high-frequency activity (HFA)—a signal associated with precise spatiotemporal properties—we show that hippocampal activity during recognition predicted recognition memory performance and tracked both recollection and familiarity. Through the lens of dual-process models, these results indicate that the hippocampus supports both the recollection and familiarity processes.
66 citations
References
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TL;DR: A theoretical model that links inhibition to 4 executive neuropsychological functions that appear to depend on it for their effective execution is constructed and finds it to be strongest for deficits in behavioral inhibition, working memory, regulation of motivation, and motor control in those with ADHD.
Abstract: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) comprises a deficit in behavioral inhibition. A theoretical model is constructed that links inhibition to 4 executive neuropsychological functions that appear to depend on it for their effective execution: (a) working memory, (b) self-regulation of affect-motivation-arousal, (c) internalization of speech, and (d) reconstitution (behavioral analysis and synthesis). Extended to ADHD, the model predicts that ADHD should be associated with secondary impairments in these 4 executive abilities and the motor control they afford. The author reviews evidence for each of these domains of functioning and finds it to be strongest for deficits in behavioral inhibition, working memory, regulation of motivation, and motor control in those with ADHD. Although the model is promising as a potential theory of self-control and ADHD, far more research is required to evaluate its merits and the many predictions it makes about ADHD.
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01 Jan 1983
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an EPISODIC/SEMANTIC DISTINCTION and a general overview of the ECPHORY system in a general framework.
Abstract: PART I: EPISODIC/SEMANTIC DISTINCTION PART II: GENERAL ABSTRACT PROCESSING SYSTEM PART III: SYNERGISTIC ECPHORY
4,757 citations
"List-Method Directed Forgetting in ..." refers background in this paper
...…which people encode both the content of the item during learning and various contextual features or attributes that are present in the background (e.g. Anderson & Bower, 1972; Estes, 1955; Gillund & Shiffrin, 1984; Hintzman, 1988; Howard & Kahana, 2002; Mensink & Raaijmakers, 1988; Tulving, 1983)....
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...Our thinking was greatly influenced by formal models of episodic memory, according to which people encode both the content of the item during learning and various contextual features or attributes that are present in the background (e.g. Anderson & Bower, 1972; Estes, 1955; Gillund & Shiffrin, 1984; Hintzman, 1988; Howard & Kahana, 2002; Mensink & Raaijmakers, 1988; Tulving, 1983)....
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TL;DR: Investigation of the testing effect with educationally relevant materials and whether testing facilitates learning only because tests offer an opportunity to restudy material concluded that testing is a powerful means of improving learning, not just assessing it.
Abstract: Taking a memory test not only assesses what one knows, but also enhances later retention, a phenomenon known as the testing effect. We studied this effect with educationally relevant materials and investigated whether testing facilitates learning only because tests offer an opportunity to restudy material. In two experiments, students studied prose passages and took one or three immediate free-recall tests, without feedback, or restudied the material the same number of times as the students who received tests. Students then took a final retention test 5 min, 2 days, or 1 week later. When the final test was given after 5 min, repeated studying improved recall relative to repeated testing. However, on the delayed tests, prior testing produced substantially greater retention than studying, even though repeated studying increased students' confidence in their ability to remember the material. Testing is a powerful means of improving learning, not just assessing it.
2,159 citations
"List-Method Directed Forgetting in ..." refers background in this paper
...This could be a critical detail given the effects of testing on retention (e.g. Roediger & Karpicke, 2006)....
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TL;DR: The search of associative memory (SAM) as discussed by the authors ) is a general theory of retrieval from long-term memory that combines features of association network models and random search models, and it posits cue-dependent probabilistic sampling and recovery from an associative network.
Abstract: Describes search of associative memory (SAM), a general theory of retrieval from long-term memory that combines features of associative network models and random search models. It posits cue-dependent probabilistic sampling and recovery from an associative network, but the network is specified as a retrieval structure rather than a storage structure. A quantitative computer simulation of SAM was developed and applied to the part-list cuing paradigm. When free recall of a list of words was cued by a random subset of words from that list, the probability of recalling one of the remaining words was less than if no cues were provided at all. SAM predicted this effect in all its variations by making extensive use of interword associations in retrieval, a process that previous theorizing has dismissed. (55 ref)
1,602 citations
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TL;DR: A model for response latency and the latencies of correct and incorrect responses in recognition memory and an interpretation of reaction time in information processing research are presented.
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1,492 citations
"List-Method Directed Forgetting in ..." refers background in this paper
...…which people encode both the content of the item during learning and various contextual features or attributes that are present in the background (e.g. Anderson & Bower, 1972; Estes, 1955; Gillund & Shiffrin, 1984; Hintzman, 1988; Howard & Kahana, 2002; Mensink & Raaijmakers, 1988; Tulving, 1983)....
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