Activating learned exemplars in children impairs memory for related exemplars in visual long-term memory

Atten Percept Psychophys

2015

Self Cite

What are the consequences of accessing a visual long-term memory representation? Previous work has shown that accessing a long-term memory representation via retrieval improves memory for the targeted item and hurts memory for related items, a phenomenon called retrieval-induced forgetting. Recently we found a similar forgetting phenomenon with recognition of visual objects. Recognition-induced forgetting occurs when practice recognizing an object during a twoalternative forced-choice task, from a group of objects learned at the same time, leads to worse memory for objects from that group that were not practiced. An alternative explanation of this effect is that category-based set size is inducing forgetting, not recognition practice as claimed by some researchers. This alternative explanation is possible because during recognition practice subjects make old-new judgments in a two-alternative forced-choice task, and are thus exposed to more objects from practiced categories, potentially inducing forgetting due to setsize. Herein I pitted the category-based set size hypothesis against the recognition-induced forgetting hypothesis. To this end, I parametrically manipulated the amount of practice objects received in the recognition-induced forgetting paradigm. If forgetting is due to category-based set size, then the magnitude of forgetting of related objects will increase as the number of practice trials increases. If forgetting is recognition induced, the set size of exemplars from any given category should not be predictive of memory for practiced objects. Consistent with this latter hypothesis, additional practice systematically improved memory for practiced objects, but did not systematically affect forgetting of related objects. These results firmly establish that recognition practice induces forgetting of related memories. Future directions and important real-world applications of using recognition to access our visual memories of previously encountered objects are discussed.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Are Practiced)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Are Practiced)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recognition-induced forgetting is not due to category-based set size

Atten Percept Psychophys

2015

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“…Recently, Maxcey and Woodman (2014) found a memory impairment, similar to retrieval-induced forgetting, in visual long-term memory of college-age adults that they called recognition-induced forgetting (see also Maxcey, 2016;Maxcey & Bostic, 2015). Evidence of this impairment is found using a recognition task to assess memory for visual stimuli.…”

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confidence: 97%

Recognition Practice Results in a Generalizable Skill in Older Adults: Decreased Intrusion Errors to Novel Objects Belonging to Practiced Categories

Applied Cognitive Psychology

Bostic

Maldonado

2016

Self Cite

Accessing memories is often accompanied by both positive and negative consequences. For example, practice recognizing some visual images held in memory can improve memory for the practiced images and hurt memory for related images (i.e., recognition-induced forgetting). However, visual stimuli have been shown to improve memory for older adults by decreasing false memories. This suggests that older adults may be immune to recognition-induced forgetting and that recognition practice may decrease susceptibility to intrusion errors. We first tested the hypothesis that older adults are immune to recognitioninduced forgetting. We found older adults exhibit recognition-induced forgetting. Next, we tested the hypothesis that recognition practice decreases older adult's rates of intrusion errors. We found lower intrusion errors for novel objects from practiced categories. This represents a generalizable learning effect; practice recognizing a target object (e.g., your pill bottle) improves the rejection of new lures (e.g., identifying the pill bottle that is not yours).

Induced Forgetting Is the Result of True Forgetting, Not Shifts in Decision-making Thresholds

Megla

Woodman

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

2021

Induced forgetting occurs when accessing an item in memory appears to harm memory representations of categorically related items. However, it is possible that the actual memory representations are unharmed. Instead, people may just change how they make decisions. Specifically, signal detection theory suggests this apparent forgetting may be due to participants shifting their decision criterion. Here, we used behavioral and electrophysiological measures to determine whether induced forgetting is truly due to changes in how items are represented or simply due to a shifting criterion. Participants' behavior and brain activity showed that induced forgetting was due to changes in the strength of the underlying representations, weighing against a criterion shift explanation of induced forgetting.