Time causes forgetting from working memory

Abstract

Although forgetting in the short term is a ubiquitous phenomenon, its exact causes remain undecided. The aim of the present study was to test the temporal decay hypothesis according to which memory traces fade away with time when attention is diverted by concurrent activities. In two experiments involving complex span tasks, adults were asked to remember series of items (either letters or spatial locations) while verifying multiplications. The duration of processing was manipulated by presenting multiplications either in word (three × four 0 twelve) or digit (3 × 4 0 12) format, the former taking longer to solve, while the time available to restore memory traces after each operation was kept constant across conditions. In line with the temporal decay hypothesis, the longer solution times elicited by solving word multiplications resulted in poorer recall performance. The fact that longer processing times had a comparable effect on both verbal and visuospatial memory and that the difference between conditions remained stable from the first to the last trials makes it difficult to account for these findings by assuming that forgetting is exclusively due to representationbased interference or buildup of proactive interference.

How quickly they forget: The relationship between forgetting and working memory performance.

“…The unique contribution of processing speed is consistent with models of working memory span performance in which individual or developmental differences in processing efficiency lead to variation in the time during which maintenance activities are prevented and forgetting can occur (i.e., Barrouillet et al, 2004Barrouillet et al, , 2007Barrouillet et al, , 2009Barrouillet et al, , 2012Bayliss et al, 2005; see also Towse et al, 1998). Likewise, the unique contribution of storage ability is consistent with models in which individual or developmental differences in reactivation rate determine the amount of information that can be successfully maintained or refreshed in any unoccupied time windows that occur during the working memory span task Bayliss et al, 2005).…”

“…As a consequence of this, the speed with which individuals complete the processing operations leads to variation in the time during which forgetting can occur whilst maintenance activities are prevented. Evidence to support this suggestion comes from a recent study by Barrouillet et al (2012), who showed that lengthening the duration of the processing activity whilst maintaining a constant time between the end of each processing activity and presentation of the subsequent storage item (i.e., the time available for restoring or refreshing the memory trace) resulted in poorer memory performance, consistent with the idea that longer processing leads to greater forgetting (see also, Bayliss et al, 2005, who showed that age-related changes in a speed of processing variable accounted for unique variance in working memory span performance). In addition, by systematically manipulating the amount of time during which children were engaged in processing and the time they had available for refreshing memory items, Barrouillet et al (2009) were able to show that the slope relating the time available for refreshing memory items with working memory span performance was steeper in older relative to younger children.…”

“…Forgetting from short-term/working memory has typically been attributed to one of two main causes, namely, a passive process of decay over time (Barrouillet, Bernardin, & Camos, 2004;Barrouillet, Bernardin, Portrat, Vergauwe, & Camos, 2007;Barrouillet, De Paepe, & Langerock, 2012;Ricker & Cowan, 2010), or some form of interference that could be either retroactive, as in interference from subsequent events within the task (Lewandowsky, Duncan, & Brown, 2004;Lewandowsky, Geiger, Morrell, & Oberauer, 2010), or proactive, as in interference that builds up between memoranda across successive trials (Bunting, 2006;Keppel & Underwood, 1962). Regardless of which of these factors is responsible for forgetting from working memory, there is some evidence to suggest that individuals may indeed vary in the rate or degree to which they forget information.…”

Le développement de la mémoire de travail : perspectives dans le cadre du modèle de partage temporel des ressources

“…La troisième hypothèse est que les traces mémorielles sur lesquelles l'attention se concentre reç oivent de l'activation, mais, dès que l'attention est déplacée, cette activation souffre d'une dégrada-tion liée au temps Barrouillet, Portrat, Vergauwe, Diependaele, & Camos, 2011 ;Barrouillet, De Paepe, & Langerock, 2012 ;Cowan, 1995Cowan, , 1999Portrat, Barrouillet, & Camos, 2008 ;Towse & Hitch, 1995). Par conséquent, dans les tâches d'empan complexe mais aussi dans le fonctionnement de la mémoire de travail en général, les traces mnésiques doivent être activement maintenues avant de disparaître lorsque l'attention est occupée par un traitement.…”

Decay uncovered in nonverbal short-term memory

“…Altmann, 2009;Barrouillet, De Paepe, & Langerock, 2012;Cowan & AuBuchon, 2008;Lewandowsky, Duncan, & Brown, 2004;Lewandowsky, Oberauer, & Brown, 2009;Neath & Nairne, 1995;. Barrouillet, Portrat, Vergauwe, Diependaele, andCamos (2011, p. 1315) have stated that "there is no direct evidence against the hypothesis of a time-related decay in the short-term", but other researchers have been much more critical and favour interference as the cause of forgetting (e.g.…”