Item-Specific Encoding Produces an Additional Benefit of Directed Forgetting : Evidence From Intrusion Errors

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Peter F. Delaney, Associate Professor (Creator)
Lili Sahakyan, Assistant Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: List-method directed forgetting involves encoding 2 lists, between which half of the participants are told to forget List 1. When participants are free to study however they want, directed forgetting impairs List 1 recall and enhances List 2 recall in the forget group compared with a control remember group. In a large-scale experiment, the current work demonstrated that when item-specific encoding instructions were enforced during learning, directed forgetting impaired List 1 recall, but it did not enhance List 2 recall. This pattern was found regardless of whether encoding was incidental or intentional. Whenever directed forgetting did not enhance List 2 recall, it nevertheless reduced cross-list intrusions. These results indicate that directed forgetting can help differentiate memories from one another, thereby reducing intrusions from irrelevant competing memories.

Additional Information

Publication
Language: English
Date: 2010
Keywords
context change, cross-list intrusions, directed forgetting, item-specific encoding, learning, forgetting, human information storage, learning, memory, psychology

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