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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
08:05

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

Published on: January 5, 2018

Doing better by getting worse: posthypnotic amnesia improves random number generation.

Devin Blair Terhune1, Peter Brugger

  • 1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. devin.terhune@psy.ox.ac.uk

Plos One
|December 24, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Forgetting can improve cognitive tasks. Disrupting memory for past numbers enhanced random number generation by reducing repetition avoidance in highly dissociative individuals.

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The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
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The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Published on: January 31, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 26, 2026

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers
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Published on: January 5, 2018

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory
07:26

The Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) Task: A Simple Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate False Memories in the Laboratory

Published on: January 31, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience of Memory

Background:

  • Forgetting is typically viewed as a cognitive deficit.
  • However, forgetting can offer benefits in specific situations.
  • Memory disruption's impact on cognitive performance requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if disrupting memory for prior numerical responses can reduce repetition avoidance.
  • To determine if this memory disruption enhances the randomness of number generation.
  • To explore individual differences in suggestibility and dissociation related to memory disruption.

Main Methods:

  • Participants completed a random number generation task under three conditions: control, posthypnotic amnesia, and suggestion cancellation.
  • Memory for previous numerical responses was targeted using posthypnotic amnesia suggestions.
  • Participants were categorized based on suggestibility and dissociative tendencies.

Main Results:

  • High dissociative, highly suggestible individuals showed increased repetitions during amnesia, matching random system frequency.
  • Other groups consistently avoided repetitions across all conditions.
  • Temporary memory disruption selectively improved random number generation in specific individuals.

Conclusions:

  • Disrupting memory for recent numerical responses can enhance the randomness of generated numbers.
  • This effect is particularly pronounced in individuals with high dissociative traits.
  • Forgetting, when strategically induced, can be a beneficial cognitive tool.