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Theoretical implications of extralist probes for directed forgetting.
Lili Sahakyan1, Leilani B Goodmon
1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA. l_sahaky@uncg.edu
Summary
Directed forgetting impairs memory recall by reducing the influence of associative information. This suggests memory retrieval is context-dependent, not solely based on inhibition.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Research
Background:
- Directed forgetting is a memory phenomenon where participants intentionally forget previously studied items.
- The extralist cuing procedure involves using related cues at retrieval for items studied without cues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of associative information in list-method directed forgetting.
- To differentiate between the context account and the inhibitory account of directed forgetting.
Main Methods:
- Five experiments utilized the extralist cuing procedure with manipulated associative properties of targets and cues.
- Variations included resonant connections, associate connectivity, associative neighborhood size, and cue-target strength.
Main Results:
- Directed forgetting consistently impaired memory recall across all experiments.
- Directed forgetting diminished the impact of associates on target activation and cue-target intersection strength.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the context account of directed forgetting.
- Results challenge the inhibitory interpretation of directed forgetting, suggesting retrieval context is key.
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