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Updated: Aug 15, 2026
10:38
A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
Consequences of value-directed remembering in working memory on memory strength and memory interference
Sara B Festini1, Raquel Aguilar1, Gian DePamphilis1
1Department of Psychology, University of Tampa.
Summary
Individuals tend to retain information in working memory (WM) unless it is detrimental. Negative-value information experienced significantly less proactive interference (PI) than high-value information.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Information value influences memory retention.
- Proactive interference (PI) impacts working memory (WM) performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate how information value affects PI in younger adults' WM.
- Examine value-directed remembering and information removal from WM.
Main Methods:
- Four experiments with 255 young adult participants.
- Recent probes WM task with arbitrarily assigned point values.
- 3-s delay for WM testing and a surprise long-term memory recognition test.
Main Results:
- Similar PI magnitudes for high-, low-, and zero-value information.
- Significantly less PI for negative-value information compared to high-value.
- Negative-value cues impaired long-term memory more than high-value cues.
Conclusions:
- Negative-value information is less susceptible to PI in WM.
- Only negative-value cues mimicked directed forgetting; other values were maintained.
- Information is retained in WM unless detrimental or removal is instructed.
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