Silence is not golden: a case for socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Memory Research

Background:

• Selective remembering, or retrieval-induced forgetting, typically affects the rememberer's own memory.
• Previous research has not fully explored how one person's act of remembering influences another person's memory.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of selective remembering on a listener's memory.
• To determine if 'silences'—unrecalled information—are more likely to be forgotten by a listener when related information is recalled by a speaker.

Main Methods:

• A modified retrieval-induced forgetting paradigm was used with pairs of participants.
• Participants studied material, with one member selectively recalling information while the other listened.
• Experiments involved paired associates, stories, and free-flowing conversations.

Main Results:

• Evidence of within-individual retrieval-induced forgetting was observed.
• Socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting was demonstrated, where listeners forgot information due to the speaker's selective recall.
• Listening to selective recall induced forgetting of related information in the listener.

Conclusions:

• Selective remembering can lead to forgetting in others, not just the individual recalling.
• Social interactions involving memory recall have a direct impact on shared knowledge and memory.
• This highlights the social dimension of memory and forgetting processes.