Selective remembering and directed forgetting are influenced by similar stimulus properties

Murphy, Dillon H; Castel, Alan D.

doi:10.1080/09658211.2022.2092152

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…In exploratory analyses, the present study demonstrated agerelated differences in how participants incorporate word characteristics like length and frequency (which typically affect memorability, e.g., Murphy & Castel, 2022e) into their offloading decisions. Specifically, across experiments, results revealed that younger adults were more likely to offload low-frequency words while older adults are more likely to offload high-frequency words.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 68%

“…This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. As an exploratory analysis suggested by reviewers, we also examined how younger and older adults' offloading decisions were impacted by factors known to impact memory like word length and frequency (e.g., Murphy & Castel, 2022e). Specifically, in a similar model as described above, we modeled offloading as a function of word length, frequency, and age group.…”

Section: ]mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Age-related differences in memory when offloading important information.

Murphy¹,

Castel²

2023

Psychology and Aging

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People can choose to use external memory aids and offload information to help them remember it, but it is unclear how objective and subjective value or importance influence offloading decisions in younger and older adults. We presented younger adults (n = 99; age range: 18-31) and older adults (n = 93; age range: 60-96) with items to remember for a later test and allowed them to offload a subset of the presented items. In Experiment 1, the to-be-remembered information was lists of associated words paired with point values counting toward participants' scores if recalled. In Experiment 2, the to-beremembered information was lists of items along a theme, such as packing for vacation, which differed in subjective value. Results revealed that when words were paired with objective point values, younger adults were more selective in their offloading decisions and subsequent recall than older adults (i.e., younger adults were more likely to offload and recall high-value items than low-value items relative to older adults). When the to-be-remembered items instead differed in subjective value, older adults were more selective in their offloading decisions than younger adults. Specifically, older adults were more likely to offload words they rated as important relative to items they rated as less important while younger adults displayed the opposite pattern-younger adults were more likely to offload words they rated as less important compared with items they rated as more important. This difference in offloading tendencies when to-be-remembered information varies in subjective value may be indicative of older adults engaging in a form of metacognitive control that can help ensure the use of responsible remembering. Public Significance StatementPeople frequently use external memory aids and technology to offload information that is important to later remember. We found that when allowed to offload to-be-remembered information, younger adults are more likely to offload and subsequently remember objectively valuable information, while older adults are more likely to offload and subsequently remember intrinsically important information. These age-related differences in the use of memory aids to selectively remember important information may indicate that older adults are more responsible offloaders and rememberers.

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Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 68%

Section: ]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-related differences in memory when offloading important information.

Murphy¹,

Castel²

2023

Psychology and Aging

Self Cite

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“…Since the first report showing that animacy is one of the best predictors of free recall (Nairne et al, 2013 ), the animacy effect has proven to be robust in retrospective memory tasks (i.e., memory for past events); it has been reported using a variety of procedures, types of to-be-encoded stimuli, and in different languages (e.g., free recall, with French words and pictures as the to-be-remembered stimuli: Bonin et al, 2014 ; metamemory/judgements of learning in English: DeYoung & Serra, 2021 ; implicit memory in Spanish: Laurino & Kaczer, 2019 ; working memory: Daley et al, 2020 ; directed forgetting in English: Murphy & Castel, 2022 ). There are, however, some circumstances in which evidence is less clear (e.g., recognition: Bonin et al, 2014 ; Leding, 2020 ; cued recall: Popp & Serra, 2016 ; but see VanArsdall et al, 2015 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

The breadth of animacy in memory: New evidence from prospective memory

Félix,

Poirier,

Nairne

et al. 2023

Psychon Bull Rev

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Studies using retrospective memory tasks have revealed that animates/living beings are better remembered than are inanimates/nonliving things (the animacy effect). However, considering that memory is foremost future oriented, we hypothesized that the animacy effect would also occur in prospective memory (i.e., memory for future intentions). Using standard prospective memory (PM) procedures, we explored this hypothesis by manipulating the animacy status of the PM targets. Study 1a reports data collected from an American sample; these results were then replicated with a Portuguese sample (Study 1b). Study 2 employed a new procedure, and data were collected from a broader English-speaking sample. In these three studies, animate (vs. inanimate) targets consistently led to a better PM performance, revealing, for the first time, that the animacy advantage extends to PM. These results strengthen the adaptive approach to memory and stress the need to consider animacy as an important variable in memory studies.

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