Young adults self-derive and retain new factual knowledge through memory integration

Abstract

The present research investigated the retention of new factual knowledge derived through integration of information acquired across temporally distributed learning episodes. Young adults were exposed to novel facts as they read long lists of seemingly unrelated information, one sentence at a time. They then were presented open-ended questions, the answers to which could be self-derived through integration of pairs of facts from the list. Experiment 1 was the first test of self-derivation of new factual knowledge through integration in adults using open-ended testing (as opposed to forced-choice testing). Participants successfully self-derived integrated knowledge under these more challenging conditions. Experiment 2 was a test for long-term retention of newly self-derived information. Newly derived knowledge remained accessible after a 1-week delay. Striking individual differences were also observed, which were related to whether individuals spontaneously identified the relational structure of the learning task. Insight into the relation between explicit task knowledge and strategic processing was also revealed through examination of response speed at the time of test. Specifically, knowledge of the task structure was associated with response latencies on unsuccessful (but not successful) trials, such that participants who were aware of the opportunity to integrate spent longer when they were subsequently unsuccessful, presumably reflecting directed search strategies and heightened perseverance when those processes failed. Together, the present findings provide direct evidence for the role of memory integration in the long-term accumulation of a semantic knowledge base and have theoretical implications for our understanding of this fundamental form of learning.

Are mnemonic failures and benefits two sides of the same coin?: Investigating the real-world consequences of individual differences in memory integration

“…The null correlations between academic performance with the BF and DRM further supports the proposal that the predictive utility of memory integration is specific to contexts in which the byproduct of this learning ability persists in memory over the long term. Indeed, knowledge newly derived through integration exhibits high retention over 1-week periods in both children (Varga & Bauer, 2013;Varga, Stewart, & Bauer, 2016) and adults (Varga & Bauer, 2017b).…”

“…More recently developed paradigms have examined the linkage of discrete memories with respect to how it supports positive task behaviors, including the derivation of new semantic knowledge (Bauer & Jackson, 2015;Varga & Bauer, 2017b), successful inferential reasoning (Preston, Shrager, Dudukovic, & Gabrieli, 2004), and decision-making (Kumaran, Summerfield, Hassabis, & Maguire, 2009). Similar to the literature on reconstructive memory errors, theories of memory integration have also relied on distributed memory models to account for how these positive behaviors emerge.…”

“…If a common integration process is engaged to encode separate-yet-related words (DRM), sentences (BF), and facts (SDI), then individuals should perform similarly across these tasks. In light of vast individual differences in the capacity for memory integration (Shohamy & Wagner, 2008;Varga & Bauer, 2017b), associations among tasks were modeled within individuals, thus enhancing sensitivity to detect similar patterns of behavior across tasks. Moreover, to minimize the differential contribution of processes recruited during task-specific judgments (monitoring old/new source vs. logical truth/fallacy of novel, integrated premises), we modified the test demands such that the decision and resulting outcome (positive or negative) was consistent for each task within an experiment.…”

We know more than we ever learned: Processes involved in accumulation of world knowledge

“…Fourth, newly self-derived information was retained for at least 1 week by children as young as 4 years (Varga et al, 2016) and adults (Varga & Bauer, 2017b). Levels of retention were high, reflecting little to no forgetting, thus defying both the power and exponential functions.…”

“…By 6 and 8 years, children successfully self-derive new facts even in open-ended testing (50% and 75%, respectively). Yet even among adults, individual variability is striking, with undergraduate students answering between 3% F I G U R E 2 Schematic representation of the self-derivation through integration paradigm and 93% of questions correctly (Varga & Bauer, 2017b). Control conditions make clear that integrating the separate episodes is necessary for high levels of performance.…”