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Updated: Jul 5, 2026
08:05
A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
Published on: January 5, 2018
Forgetting and recovering the unforgettable.
Steven M Smith1, Sarah C Moynan
1Department of Psychology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. stevesmith@tamu.edu
Psychological Science
|May 10, 2008
Summary
Striking, reversible forgetting occurred even for emotional words. Memory recall was dramatically reduced by interference but fully recovered with appropriate retrieval cues, demonstrating memory malleability.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience of Memory
Background:
- Classic memory research highlights interference and retrieval cuing.
- Emotional and distinctive materials often exhibit robust memory traces.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate reversible forgetting effects.
- To examine the influence of interference and retrieval cues on memory for distinct, emotional content.
- To explore implications for the false-memory debate.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments utilized procedures based on interference and retrieval cuing.
- Participants were presented with lists of words, including expletives.
- Recall was assessed following interference and subsequent cueing.
Main Results:
- Significant, reversible forgetting effects were observed.
- Interference drastically reduced recall.
- Appropriate retrieval cues led to complete memory recovery.
- Distinctive, emotionally charged materials (sexual, violent content) were particularly susceptible to these effects.
Conclusions:
- Powerful, unintentional forgetting is possible, even with highly distinctive and emotional material.
- This forgetting is reversible with targeted retrieval cues.
- Findings underscore the dynamic nature of memory and inform the false-memory debate by highlighting blocked and recovered memories.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Forgetting
Forgetting is an intrinsic aspect of human memory, characterized by the gradual loss or inaccessibility of information over time. Hermann Ebbinghaus, a pioneering psychologist, extensively studied this phenomenon and formulated the forgetting curve. This curve illustrates that memory loss occurs rapidly immediately after learning and then decelerates over time. Several mechanisms contribute to forgetting, including encoding failure, storage decay, retrieval failure, and interference.
Encoding...
Encoding...
01:16Interference and Decay
Forgetting is a complex cognitive phenomenon influenced by several factors, among which interference and decay are particularly prominent. These processes explain why individuals often struggle to retrieve specific information from memory, leading to lapses in recall that can be observed in everyday situations.
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
01:16Repressed Memory
Repressed memories are a psychological phenomenon where memories of traumatic events are unconsciously blocked from a person's awareness. This process occurs as a defense mechanism, protecting the mind from the emotional impact of distressing or painful experiences. For example, a person who has experienced childhood trauma may grow up with no conscious recollection of the event. In such cases, the memories are thought to be buried deep within the subconscious, inaccessible to the conscious...
01:12Retrieval
Retrieval is the process of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness. This ability is essential for daily tasks like brushing hair and teeth, driving to work, and performing job duties. Retrieval occurs in three ways: recall, recognition, and relearning.
Recall involves accessing information without cues, such as during an essay test, where individuals must retrieve facts and concepts from memory unaided. Another example is remembering the name of a colleague...
Recall involves accessing information without cues, such as during an essay test, where individuals must retrieve facts and concepts from memory unaided. Another example is remembering the name of a colleague...
01:26Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
Memory is one of the most vital higher mental functions of the brain. Memory is closely related to learning because it enables us to retain information and experiences from our past to use them in our present life. It also helps us to remember facts, events, and skills, such as riding a bike or swimming. There are two types of memory — declarative memory, which involves memorizing facts or events, and procedural memory, which enables us to remember how to do something like writing or playing an...
01:18False Memories
False memories represent a cognitive distortion in which individuals recall events that did not happen, or remember them in an altered form. This phenomenon highlights the brain's constructive nature in processing and recalling memories, emphasizing that memory is not a perfect representation of past events but rather a dynamic reconstruction influenced by various factors.
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information with...
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information with...