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 Experiment Videos

Need probability affects retention: a direct demonstration

R B Anderson1, R D Tweney, M Rivardo

  • 1Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, OH 43403, USA. randers@trapper.bgsu.edu

Memory & Cognition
|January 9, 1998
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Intense alteration on early Mars revealed by high-aluminum rocks at Jezero crater.

Communications earth & environment·2024
Same author

'Handing down of beautiful knowledge': Yarning with workers about feeding practices and mealtimes in Australian First Nations families.

Appetite·2024
Same author

Correction: Validation of actigraphy sleep metrics in children aged 8 to 16 years: considerations for device type, placement and algorithms.

The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity·2024
Same author

Validation of actigraphy sleep metrics in children aged 8 to 16 years: considerations for device type, placement and algorithms.

The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity·2024
Same author

Health-promoting and health-constraining environmental features and physical activity and sedentary behaviour in adolescence: a geospatial cross-sectional study.

Health & place·2022
Same author

Bromide of Potassium in after Pains.

The Georgia medical companion·2022
Same journal

Music enhances associative generalization: Evidence from a memory integration task.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Video, text, and memory: An emotional verbal overshadowing effect.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Limited protective effects of multilingualism against age-related cognitive decline.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Validation of illustrated texts: Can pictures raise awareness of inconsistencies?

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

4I remember (and forget) your happy smiling face: Directed forgetting of emotionally expressive faces of in-group and out-group members.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same journal

Identity in the spotlight: Matching faces without overlapping features.

Memory & cognition·2026
See all related articles

Memory retention adapts to the likelihood of future testing, known as need probability. The rate of forgetting is influenced by how this probability changes over time, supporting memory

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Memory Research
  • Learning Theory

Background:

  • Recent memory theory highlights 'need probability,' the chance of recalling specific information.
  • It's proposed that real-world need probability decreases over time, with memory loss rates adapting accordingly.
  • This study investigates how the rate of forgetting aligns with changing need probabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the impact of the need-probability curve's slope on the retention curve's slope.
  • To determine if memory retention adapts to varying probabilities of future testing.
  • To explore the relationship between memory decay and the predicted utility of information.

Main Methods:

  • Participants memorized digit lists and retained them for intervals of 1 to 16 seconds.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Trials concluded with either a recall test or a 'no test' message.
  • Need probability was manipulated to increase, decrease, or remain flat across retention intervals.

    • Main Results:

    • The shape of the need-probability curve significantly influenced the slope of the retention curve.
    • This effect intensified as the experimental session progressed.
    • Forgetting curves consistently followed a power function, regardless of need probability manipulation.

    Conclusions:

    • Memory actively adapts to predicted future needs (need probabilities).
    • The rate of forgetting is demonstrably influenced by the slope of the need-probability curve.
    • Need probability affects the rate of forgetting but not its fundamental mathematical form.