Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Working Memory01:24

Working Memory

Working memory refers to a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow an individual to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks. It is an essential cognitive function that enables the execution of complex tasks such as problem-solving, comprehension, and reasoning. Unlike short-term memory, which simply involves the storage of information for a brief period, working memory involves the active manipulation and processing of this information.
Interference and Decay01:16

Interference 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...
Long-Term Memory01:18

Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory is a relatively permanent type of memory, capable of storing vast amounts of information over extended periods. Its storage capacity is generally considered unlimited.
Long-term memory can be categorized into two primary types: explicit and implicit memory. Explicit memory, also known as declarative memory, involves the conscious recollection of information that we deliberately try to remember, recall, and articulate. This type of memory encompasses specific facts, events, and...
Eyewitness Memory01:22

Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness memory refers to the recollection of events by someone who has directly witnessed them, often serving as critical evidence in legal settings. This type of memory is commonly used in criminal cases where a witness describes details like a suspect's appearance, clothing, or behavior during a crime. However, despite its perceived reliability, eyewitness memory is prone to significant errors.
One such error is memory distortion, which occurs because human memory does not function like a...
Information Processing Approach01:30

Information Processing Approach

The information-processing theory of cognitive development centers on fundamental mental processes, including attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Researchers in this field examine how cognitive abilities, such as working memory, evolve and influence children's overall development. Studies indicate that children with stronger working memory tend to excel in reading comprehension, math, and problem-solving compared to peers with less efficient memory skills. Low working memory is also...
Long-term Depression01:03

Long-term Depression

Long-term depression, or LTD, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTD is the process of synaptic weakening that occurs over time between pre and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic weakening of LTD works in opposition to synaptic strengthening by long-term potentiation (LTP) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Calcium Ion Concentration Mechanism
If over time, all...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Reliability, bias, and computational cost of estimating the Bayes factor using bridge sampling and the Savage-Dickey density ratio.

Behavior research methods·2026
Same author

The role of eye movements and covert shifts of attention in working and long-term memory retrieval.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same author

The architecture of the internet creates risks for democracy.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026
Same author

Implementing psychology-based empathetic refutational interview training to support vaccine confident conversations for health workers.

Public health·2026
Same author

How is free time used in complex span tasks?

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2026
Same author

Does the benefit of time for working memory arise at encoding or retrieval?

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2026
Same journal

Testing the predictions of a distinctiveness model of memory: The production effect in backward recall.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2026
Same journal

On the impact of adjacency on transposed-word effects under serial presentation.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2026
Same journal

It's time to opt out: Metacognitive analysis of time regulation under uncertainty.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2026
Same journal

The role of statistical learning in attentional guidance during search through naturalistic scenes.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2026
Same journal

Representing objects and features in long-term memory: A case for direct feature-feature binding.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2026
Same journal

Crossmodal correspondences influence adaptation during rule-based category learning of objects.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
10:38

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

No evidence for temporal decay in working memory.

Stephan Lewandowsky1, Klaus Oberauer

  • 1School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia. lewan@psy.uwa.edu.au

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|October 28, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Forgetting in working memory is not driven by time-based decay. This study shows that post-error processing, not time, interferes with memory recall in complex-span tasks.

More Related Videos

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
07:01

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment

Published on: September 20, 2020

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
09:05

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

Published on: June 12, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 19, 2026

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
10:38

A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions

Published on: July 16, 2015

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
07:01

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment

Published on: September 20, 2020

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)
09:05

Assessing Working Memory in Children: The Comprehensive Assessment Battery for Children – Working Memory (CABC-WM)

Published on: June 12, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human Memory

Background:

  • Working memory is crucial for cognitive tasks.
  • Theories of working memory include time-based decay models.
  • Complex-span tasks assess working memory capacity and forgetting.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanisms driving forgetting in working memory.
  • To challenge the interpretation of time-based decay in complex-span tasks.
  • To identify alternative explanations for recall decline.

Main Methods:

  • An experiment was designed to re-examine findings from Portrat et al. (2008).
  • Statistical controls were implemented to account for post-error processes.
  • The impact of processing task duration on recall was analyzed.

Main Results:

  • Uncontrolled post-error processes were found to occupy the attentional bottleneck.
  • These post-error processes prevented restorative rehearsal, impacting recall.
  • When post-error processes were controlled, evidence for temporal decay disappeared.

Conclusions:

  • Current evidence does not support temporal decay as a primary driver of forgetting in the complex-span paradigm.
  • Post-error processing is a significant factor influencing working memory recall.
  • Further research should consider attentional limitations and interference in memory models.