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Journal ArticleDOI

Positive forgetting: The noninterference of Items intentionally forgotten

01 Jun 1970-Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior (Academic Press)-Vol. 9, Iss: 3, pp 255-268
TL;DR: In this paper, a theory of intentional forgetting is proposed that assumes Ss (a) organize the remember items into a grouping that functionally separates them from the forget items and (b) devote all rehearsal activities following the forget instruction to the remembering items.
About: This article is published in Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior.The article was published on 1970-06-01 and is currently open access. It has received 308 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Forgetting & Motivated forgetting.
Citations
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Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1996-Memory
TL;DR: This chapter illustrates how forgetting might be linked to inhibitory processes underlying selective attention, according to a new perspective that builds upon insights from modern work, while validating intuitions underlying several of the classical interference mechanisms.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the causes of memory interference and the extent of situations in which these mechanisms operate. First, the chapter discusses some widely held assumptions about the situation of interference, focusing on the idea that such effects arise from competition for access via a shared retrieval cue. This notion is sufficiently general that it may be applied in a variety of interference settings, which is illustrated briefly. Then the classical interference paradigms from which these ideas emerged are reviewed. The chapter also reviews more recent phenomena that both support and challenge classical conceptions of interference. These phenomena provide compelling illustrations of the generality of interference and, consequently, of the importance of understanding its mechanisms. A recent perspective on interference is highlighted that builds upon insights from modern work, while validating intuitions underlying several of the classical interference mechanisms. According to this new perspective, forgetting derives not from acquiring new memories per se, but from the impact of later retrievals of the newly learned material. After discussing findings from several paradigms that support this retrieval-based view, the chapter illustrates how forgetting might be linked to inhibitory processes underlying selective attention.

449 citations

Book ChapterDOI

390 citations


Cites background from "Positive forgetting: The noninterfe..."

  • ...…directed forgetting quickly came to favor set differentiation (differential tagging of R and F items) and selective rehearsal (rehearsing mainly R items) as explanations (e.g., Bjork, 1970; Bjork, LaBerge, & Legrand, 1968), and the inhibition explanation was largely mothballed for about 15 years....

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Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this paper, the development of cognitive inhibition using theories, definitions, and research evidence is discussed, and the tenability of the hypothesis that cognitive inhibition improves in efficiency over childhood is examined.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter illustrates the development of cognitive inhibition using theories, definitions, and research evidence. Several contemporary developmental theories emphasize the role of changes in inhibitory efficiency in accounting for developmental changes in other aspects of cognition and behavior. A vital assumption of such approaches is that inhibitory mechanisms become more proficient during early development and decline in efficiency in later development. This chapter examines the tenability of the hypothesis that certain forms of cognitive inhibition improve in efficiency over childhood. It begins with a discussion on cognitive inhibition in the context of historical and contemporary inhibition models. It examines some of the key characteristics of the cognitive inhibition construct. It is focused on distinguishing between behavioral and cognitive inhibition and between inhibition and interference. Finally, it also examines intentional and automatic forms of cognitive inhibition as well as a review of recent research evidence concerning developmental changes in these variables.

390 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is predicted that a task involving repeated switching of categories will interfere with generation, despite being predictable and having a low memory load, and the implications for the analysis of executive processes are discussed.
Abstract: A series of experiments explores the capacity for generating sequences of random responses, relating it to the central executive component of working memory. Experiment 1 shows a broadly similar pattern of redundancy increasing with speed of generation for both the verbal generation of digits and the manual pressing of keys. In both cases deviations from randomness are shown to reflect the increasing use of a limited number of stereotyped response sets. The remaining experiments use keyboard generation. Experiment 2 demonstrates that concurrent immediate serial recall decreases randomness, and that longer recall sequences produce less random output. Experiments 3 and 4 show that whereas simple counting has no effect on randomness, serial recall, semantic category generation, and concurrent digit generation have substantial effects, and a concurrent fluid intelligence test has the greatest influence on the randomness of key pressing. It is suggested that the task of random generation resembles that of cate...

388 citations


Cites background from "Positive forgetting: The noninterfe..."

  • ...In addition, there appears to be a capacity to inhibit responses actively as shown in Bjork’ s directed forgetting paradigm in which subjects are instructed to forget sections of material to be learned, and appear to have some success in doing so (Bjork, 1970)....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI

2,785 citations


"Positive forgetting: The noninterfe..." refers background in this paper

  • ...To give the issue more specificity, consider an experiment by Murdock (1963). Murdock presented Ss with lists of word-word paired associates and, at the end of each list, presented one of the stimuli in the list as a test of S's memory for the paired response....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors investigated whether Ss could reduce the proactive interference of a first verbal item (CCCC) if they were signaled just prior to the presentation of a second item that they could forget the first item.
Abstract: This study was designed to investigate whether Ss could reduce the proactive interference of a first verbal item (CCCC) if they were signalled just prior to the presentation of a second item that they could forget the first item Recall of the second of two CCCC items inserted in a series of digits was better when Ss were told to “drop” the first item than when there was no such instruction, but it was not as good as recall when only one item was presented

144 citations