Implicit Proactive Interference, Age, and Automatic Versus Controlled Retrieval Strategies

Abstract

We assessed the extent to which implicit proactive interference results from automatic versus controlled retrieval among younger and older adults. During a study phase, targets (e.g., "ALLERGY") either were or were not preceded by nontarget competitors (e.g., "ANALOGY"). After a filled interval, the participants were asked to complete word fragments, some of which cued studied words (e.g., "A_L_ _GY"). Retrieval strategies were identified by the difference in response speed between a phase containing fragments that cued only new words and a phase that included a mix of fragments cuing old and new words. Previous results were replicated: Proactive interference was found in implicit memory, and the negative effects were greater for older than for younger adults. Novel findings demonstrate two retrieval processes that contribute to interference: an automatic one that is age invariant and a controlled process that can reduce the magnitude of the automatic interference effects. The controlled process, however, is used effectively only by younger adults. This pattern of findings potentially explains age differences in susceptibility to proactive interference.

Proactive control of proactive interference using the method of loci

“…The current study’s aim was to investigate whether PI - a main cause of forgetting - can be reduced by using the mnemonic strategy of the MOL, well known to enhance retention through the proactive use of distinctive cues. PI is reduced through proactive strategies in directed forgetting (Bjork & Bjork, 1996; Gazzaley et al, 2005; Sahakyan & Delaney, 2005) in which PI is reduced by the instruction to forget a non-target list and also in observations that expecting PI results in less actual PI (Braver, Gray, & Burgess, 2007; Ikier et al, 2008). The point here is that previous research demonstrates reduced PI by intention to forget or expectations.…”

“…However, PI can be reduced through proactive control when participants are instructed to selectively ignore non-target information (Bjork & Bjork, 1996; Gazzaley, Cooney, Rissman, & D’Esposito, 2005). Additionally, by engaging in controlled retrieval strategies, PI is reduced in some younger adults (Ikier, Yang, & Hasher, 2008), suggesting that intentional, proactive control can reduce PI.…”

“…In other words, it is more difficult to select one option from among its competitors when incompatible responses are associated with the same cue. When this happens the result is cue-overload or simultaneous competition for response between multiple candidates, which produces interference (Ikier et al, 2008; Jonides et al, 2008; Postman & Underwood, 1973). Evidence for the principle of cue-overload is found in studies of sentence comprehension in which the availability of any given item decreases as the probability that its cues match another item increase (Van Dyke & McElree, 2006).…”

Divided attention reduces resistance to distraction at encoding but not retrieval

“…Another, non-mutually exclusive possibility is that older adults' retrieval control processes are weaker than even those of young adults under DA at retrieval. Indeed, older adults show greater susceptibility to interference (Ikier, Yang, & Hasher, 2008) and a reduced ability to resolve interference at retrieval compared to young adults (Healey, Hasher, & Campbell, 2013). Also, older adults show retrieval impairments that are not typically observed in young adults under DA, such as higher rates of false recognition for associates of target words (Budson, Sullivan, Daffner, & Schacter, 2003), and a greater influence of misleading stimuli at retrieval (Jacoby, Bishara, Hessels, & Toth, 2005), suggesting that retrieval in older adults may be affected by factors other than a simple reduction of attentional resources.…”

Educational Website based on Integration between Web-based Simulation and Retrieval Strategies

“…The specific tactics associated with organization include the process of selecting the main idea through outlining, networking, and diagramming information [19]. In addition, many researchers have demonstrated the importance of retrieval strategies in the ability of learners to retrieve the educational material more efficiently [21][22][23][24].…”