Although memory inhibition seems to underlie retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF), there is some controversy about the precise nature of this effect. Because normal RIF is observed in people with deficits in executive control (i.e., older adults), some have proposed that an automatic-like inhibitory process is responsible for the effect. On the contrary, neurocognitive and dual-task findings with young people support the view that an executive control process underlies RIF. In the present study, we address this apparent controversy by comparing young and older participants under different dual-task conditions. Our results indicate that memory inhibition in older adults also depends on executive control, which is more easily disrupted by a secondary task in older than in young adults. Thus, the fact that RIF in older adults is sometimes present is not incompatible with a decline in executive control with aging. The results also shed some light into the discussion regarding the effect of dual tasking on retrieval.

Research has shown that selective retrieval of episodic memories usually leads to forgetting of related memories that compete for retrieval [a phenomenon known as retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF)]. However, there are conflicting data regarding the duration of this incidental kind of forgetting. While some studies have found that this forgetting effect disappears within 24 h after selective retrieval, others suggest that it may last for as long as at least a week. In two experiments, we explored whether discrepancies in the durability of RIF may be due to variations in the type of relationships (preexisting vs. novel) that are present between items associated with a given cue. We explored this issue by manipulating the degree of involvement of preexisting/novel associations among competing items as well as the delay between retrieval practice and test (immediate in Experiment 1 and 24-h delay test in Experiment 2). The results suggest that forgetting lasts longer when the degree of preexisting associations among targets and competitors is low.

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Se realizaron dos experimentos que pretendían cubrir dos objetivos principales. En primer lugar, replicar los efectos de olvido que previamente se habían encontrado en el paradigma de señalización de una parte del total (SPT) utilizando atributos de personalidad—estereotípica y personal—. En segundo lugar, se pretendía identificar el mecanismo subyacente a los efectos de olvido encontrados en el paradigma de la SPT. Para ello, se contrastaron las hipótesis y predicciones inhibitorias frente a las hipótesis basadas en la interferencia. Los resultados respecto al primer objetivo, replican los efectos clásicos del paradigma SPT con información estereotípica. Respecto al segundo objetivo, frente a explicaciones inhibitorias, se encontraron evidencias de que el olvido de información, como consecuencia de la presentación de claves de recuerdo, estaría explicado por la hipótesis de la disrupción de la estrategia. Las repercusiones de los resultados obtenidos se discuten por un lado, en el marco del análisis de los procesos de memoria y por otro, en el de los mecanismos que subyacen al mantenimiento y cambio de los estereotipos.