Directed forgetting in implicit and explicit memory tests: A comparison of methods.

Abstract

Directed forgetting has been studied by instructing Ss to forget either (a) an initial list or (b) individually selected words. Differential encoding was hypothesized to be responsible for wordmethod directed forgetting, and retrieval inhibition for list-method directed forgetting. In Experiments 1 and 2, directed forgetting was observed in recognition with the word method but not with the list method. Release from directed forgetting occurred in final recall after recognition but only with the list method. These results are interpreted in terms of a theoretical framework that integrates distinctive-relational processing theory with revised generation-recognition theory. In Experiments 1-3, predictions from that framework were generally well supported on implicit and explicit retention tests that provided the same stimulus conditions. Consistent with processing theory, list-method directed forgetting was absent on data-driven or conceptually driven implicit tests, and word-method directed forgetting was absent on data-driven implicit tests.

Inhibitory control of memory in normal ageing: Dissociation between impaired intentional and preserved unintentional processes

“…Consequently, it seems important to examine whether the pattern of performance we observed in elderly subjects could also be explained by these task characteristics. First, with regard to the locus of inhibition, the two directed forgetting tasks, which are considered to require inhibition at the stage of encoding information (e.g., Badsen, Badsen, & Gargano, 1993), were impaired by normal aging while the retrieval-induced forgetting and probe recency tasks, which are supposed to require inhibition during retrieval of information (Anderson, 2003;D'Esposito et al, 1999), were not. On this basis, it could be argued that normal aging is in fact associated with a specific preservation of inhibitory processes intervening during memory retrieval processes.…”

Towards a Cognitive and Neurobiological Model of Motivated Forgetting

“…For instance, some have attributed item method directed forgetting to intentional truncation of encoding processes. By this view, until participants receive the cue to remember or forget, subjects intentionally halt elaborative encoding until they know what they are supposed to do, elaborating the item further only if it is to be remembered (e.g., Basden, Basden, & Gargano, 1993 ). Others have argued for a role of cognitive control and response override in this procedure (Hourihan & Taylor, 2006 ) , a hypothesis supported by both behavioral (Fawcett & Taylor, 2008 ) and imaging studies ( Wylie, Fox, & Taylor, 2008 ) that document the dependency of the forget instruction on attention and cognitive control systems.…”

Alexithymia impairs the cognitive control of negative material while facilitating the recall of neutral material in both younger and older adults

“…Thus, it examines the ability to "control the contents of consciousness" (Whetstone, Cross, & Whetstone, 1996). Two methods are commonly used (Basden & Basden, 1996;Basden, Basden, & Gargano, 1993;MacLeod, 1998MacLeod, , 1999: (1) the item-by-item cueing method (i.e., word method), which tends to induce rehearsal mechanisms during encoding and (2) the list cueing method (i.e., list method), where "forget" instructions are provided after the first half of the list and "remember" instructions occur after the second half, which requires a specific effort to forget and/or control for context changes. As we were interested in the latter form of cognitive control, we used the list method in our study.…”