Does retrieving a memory insulate it against memory inhibition? A retroactive interference study

It is still debated whether suppressing the retrieval of unwanted memories causes forgetting and whether this constitutes a beneficial mechanism. To shed light on these two questions, we scrutinize the evidence for such suppression-induced forgetting (SIF) and examine whether it is deficient in psychological disorders characterized by intrusive thoughts. Specifically, we performed a focused metaanalysis of studies that have used the Think/No-Think procedure to test SIF in individuals either affected by psychological disorders or exhibiting high scores on related traits. Overall, across 96 effects from 25 studies, we found that avoiding retrieval leads to significant forgetting in healthy individuals, with a small to moderate effect size (0.28, 95% CI [0.14, 0.43]). Importantly, this effect was indeed larger than for more anxious (-0.21, 95% CI [-0.41,-0.02]) or depressed individuals (0.05, 95% CI [-0.19, 0.29])-though estimates for the healthy may be inflated by publication bias. In contrast, individuals with a stronger repressive coping style showed greater SIF (0.42, 95% CI [0.32, 0.52]). Furthermore, moderator analyses revealed that SIF varied with the exact suppression mechanism that participants were instructed to engage. For healthy individuals, the effect sizes were considerably larger when instructions induced specific mechanisms of direct retrieval suppression or thought substitution than when they were unspecific. These results suggest that intact suppression-induced forgetting is a hallmark of psychological well-being, and that inducing more specific suppression mechanisms fosters voluntary forgetting.

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“…(Though recent evidence suggests that inhibition also plays a role in this paradigm. Hulbert & Anderson, 2020).…”

Section: Significant Suppression-induced Forgetting In Healthy Adultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Memory suppression and its deficiency in psychological disorders: A focused meta-analysis.

Stramaccia

Meyer

Rischer

et al. 2021

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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“…Some research has suggested that interference may be modulated by inhibiting competitors at retrieval (Anderson, 2003; Anderson et al, 1994; Hulbert & Anderson, 2020). For example, proactive interference could be resolved by temporarily inhibiting previously learned information that competes for retrieval of the newly learned information.…”

Section: Intraobject and Extraobject And Memory Binding Across Develo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraobject and extraobject memory binding across early development.

Darby¹,

Sederberg²,

Sloutsky³

2022

Developmental Psychology

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The ability to bind, or link, different aspects of an experience in memory undergoes protracted development across childhood. Most studies of memory binding development have assessed extraobject binding between an object and some external element such as another object, whereas little work has examined the development of intraobject binding, such as between shape and color features within the same object. In this work, we investigate the development of intra- and extraobject memory binding in five-year-olds, eight-year-olds, and young adults with a memory interference paradigm. Between two experiments, we manipulate whether stimuli are presented as coherent objects (Experiment 1: n5-year-olds = 32, 19 males, 13 females; n8-year-olds = 30, 15 males, 15 females; nadults = 30, 15 males, 15 females), requiring intraobject binding between shape and color features, or as spatially separated features (Experiment 2: n5-year-olds = 24, 16 males, 8 females; n8-year-olds = 41, 19 males, 22 females; nadults = 31, 13 males, 18 females), requiring extraobject binding. To estimate the contributions of different binding structures to performance, we present a novel computational model that mathematically instantiates the memory binding, forgetting, and retrieval processes we hypothesize to underlie performance on the task. The results provide evidence of substantial developmental improvements in both intraobject and extraobject binding of shape and color features between 5 and 8 years of age, as well as stronger intraobject compared with extraobject binding of features in all age groups. These findings provide key insights into memory binding across early development.

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“…It is unclear whether interference will be exacerbated more by blocked or interleaved presentation. Reactivating prior knowledge protects this information from interference from new, related information (retroactive interference; Hulbert and Anderson, 2020), and even can promote acquisition of related information (facilitation; Kuhl et al, 2010;van Kesteren et al, 2018). Furthermore, reactivation ease has been linked to strength of the memory , suggesting that participants may more easily reactivate information during blocked presentation and, as a result, have reduced interference or enhanced facilitation, both of which would enhance learning.…”

Section: Memory For Related Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, specific features of blocked presentation also support my prediction that memory retention will be enhanced by this presentation format. I predict that the relationship between stronger prior knowledge and better acquisition of related information (Kuhl et al, 2010;van Kesteren et al, 2018), as well as greater protection from distortion of prior knowledge when related information is encountered (Hulbert and Anderson, 2020), will make strength of prior knowledge the most important factor that affects memory for related information.…”

Section: Memory For Related Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of learning condition on memory for and integration of related information

Kendrick¹,

Zeithamová²

2021

Preprint

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Although we often are tasked with learning pieces of information that are related in some way in educational settings, the learning conditions that promote learning of and connections across related information are still poorly understood. In this thesis, I asked: Which instruction methods promote learning of and connections across (integration of) related information? In the two experiments in this thesis, participants were presented related information in two different formats, and we assessed their memory for related information, in addition to how well they could integrate related information to derive new knowledge. The two presentation formats incorporated the same number of exposures of related information, but the sequence with which information was presented was manipulated: In one presentation format (blocked) participants strongly learn one set of information, before being confronted with a related set of information, whereas participants learn related information in parallel in the other (interleaved). In Experiment 1, we found that blocked presentation enhanced both memory for and integration of related information. However, given potential effects of testing order on our results, we more closely examined memory for related information in Experiment 2. In Experiment 2, we no longer found a difference in overall memory for related information between the two presentation formats. In fact, we found evidence that presence of shared information enhanced learning of related information after interleaved presentation only. Regardless, the results of both experiments demonstrated that manipulating just the sequence with which information is presented, without increasing the number of exposures, can enhance learning, an impactful finding in an era of increased pressures to maximize instructional time.

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Does retrieving a memory insulate it against memory inhibition? A retroactive interference study

Cited by 5 publications

References 67 publications

Memory suppression and its deficiency in psychological disorders: A focused meta-analysis.

Memory suppression and its deficiency in psychological disorders: A focused meta-analysis.

Intraobject and extraobject memory binding across early development.

The effect of learning condition on memory for and integration of related information

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