Although retrieval practice typically enhances memory retention, it can also impair subsequent eyewitness memory accuracy (Chan, Thomas, & Bulevich, 2009). Specifically, participants who had taken an initial test about a witnessed event were more likely than nontested participants to recall subsequently encountered misinformation-an effect we called retrieval-enhanced suggestibility (RES). Here, we sought to test the generality of RES and to further elucidate its underlying mechanisms. To that end, we tested a dual mechanism account, which suggests that RES occurs because initial testing (a) enhances learning of the later misinformation by reducing proactive interference and (b) causes the reactivated memory trace to be more susceptible to later interference (i.e., a reconsolidation account). Three major findings emerged. First, RES was found after a 1-week delay, where a robust testing benefit occurred for event details that were not contradicted by later misinformation. Second, blockage of reconsolidation was unnecessary for RES to occur. Third, initial testing enhanced learning of the misinformation even when proactive interference played a minimal role. Running head: TESTING AND DELAY ON EYEWITNESS MEMORY 2 Abstract Although retrieval practice typically enhances memory retention, it can also impair subsequent
Child sexual abuse is a problem with both a national and worldwide prevalence. In this review, the authors note that while empirical research has clearly shown the negative impact of child sexual abuse on social, psychological, and sexual functioning later in life, it has also been reported that some individuals remain asymptomatic despite a history of experiencing child sexual abuse. This implies that negative outcomes later in life are not inevitable and illustrates the critical need to elucidate how resilience may moderate the negative impacts of child sexual abuse. In addition to emphasising the role of resilience, this review also underscores the important role that cultural context plays in understanding child sexual abuse, as there are known risk factors and protective factors specific to different cultures. Similarly, one's culture may also influence whether abuse is reported and addressed, and the topic is given special attention in this paper because it is not widely discussed within the existing literature. The impact of child sexual abuse on mental health, sexual health, and social functioning is also discussed.
Event-related brain potentials were used to examine the neural correlates of task switching directed by task cues and transition cues. Task cues signal both a change of task set and the task to implement; in contrast, transition cues signal a change of task set but do not indicate the required task. The data from two experiments revealed that the frontal P2 and reconfiguration slow wave were elicited by task and transition cues and may reflect processes associated with the change detector and task set configuration. Experiment 2 revealed that the frontal positivity and transition parietal slow wave are associated with the retrieval of the prior task set from memory. These data indicate that distinct neural processes that are related to the change detector, task set configuration, and the retrieval of a recently utilized task set from memory support task switching that is guided by task and transition cues.
Early studies of human memory suggest that adherence to a known structural regularity (e.g., orthographic regularity) benefits memory for an otherwise novel stimulus (e.g., G. A. Miller, 1958). However, a more recent study suggests that structural regularity can lead to an increase in false-positive responses on recognition memory tests (B. W. A. Whittlesea & L. D. Williams, 1998). In the present study the authors attempted to identify the circumstances under which structural regularity benefits old-new discrimination and those under which it leads to an increase in false-positive responses. The highly generalizable tendency shown here is for structural regularity to benefit old-new discrimination. The increase in false-positive responses for structurally regular novel items may be limited to situations in which regularity is confounded with similarity to studied items.
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