Factorial validity of the Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48

The purpose of this study was to assess the factorial validity of the Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48 (Clough, Earle, & Sewell, 2002). In total, 8207 participants (male n = 4019, female n = 3922, unspecified = 266) aged between 16 and 68 years (M = 37.00, SD = 12.09) completed the MTQ48. Model fit was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory structural equation modeling, in addition to the robust maximum likelihood estimator. Overall, our results support the factorial validity of the MTQ48 and indicate that the MTQ48 is a robust psychometric measure of mental toughness. Along with previous data, which supports the internal validity of the MTQ48 in addition to results of this study, it would appear that the MTQ48 is an acceptable method of assessing mental toughness.     

情绪性记忆的主动遗忘

情绪性记忆的主动遗忘, 是指人们有意识地主动地遗忘带有情绪色彩的记忆内容, 但更多的是那些带来痛苦的负性情绪性记忆。主动遗忘又分为定向遗忘和压抑遗忘, 项目法和字表法是实验室中研究定向遗忘的主要方法, 而白熊任务和TNT任务是研究压抑遗忘的主要范式, 研究者们围绕两种遗忘做了大量研究。未来的研究应更关注情绪性记忆遗忘的不同心理机制, 不同研究范式与心理机制的交互作用, 情绪性记忆遗忘的个体差异, 情绪性记忆遗忘中事件遗忘和情绪反应遗忘的分离等 问题。     

“To‐be‐forgotten” statements become less true: Memory processes involved in selection and forgetting lead to truthfulness changes of ambiguous sentences

What happens when people try to forget something? What are the consequences of instructing people to intentionally forget a sentence? Recent studies employing the item‐method directed forgetting paradigm have shown that to‐be‐forgotten (TBF) items are, in a subsequent task, emotionally devaluated relative to to‐be‐remembered (TBR) items, an aftereffect of memory selection (Vivas, Marful, Panagiotidou & Bajo, 2016). As such, distractor devaluation by attentional selection generalizes to memory selection. In this study, we use the item‐method directed forgetting paradigm to test the effects of memory selection and inhibition on truth judgments of ambiguous sentences. We expected the relative standing of an item in the task (i.e., whether it was instructed to be remembered or forgotten) to affect the truthfulness value of that item, making TBF items less valid/truthful than TBR items. As predicted, ambiguous sentences associated with a “Forget” cue were subsequently judged as less true than sentences associated with a “Remember” cue, suggesting that instructions to intentionally forget a statement can produce changes in the validity/truthfulness of that statement. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show an influence of memory processes involved in selection and forgetting on the perceived truthfulness of sentences.     

The crucial role of postcue encoding in directed forgetting and context-dependent forgetting

People can intentionally forget previously studied material if, after study, a forget cue is provided and new material is learned. It has recently been suggested that such list-method directed forgetting arises because the forget cue induces a change in internal context and causes context-dependent forgetting of the studied material (L. Sahakyan & C. M. Kelley, 2002). The authors compared directed forgetting and context-dependent forgetting by examining whether, like a forget cue, a change in internal context needs subsequent learning of new material to be effective. Participants studied an item list and, after study, received a remember cue or a forget cue or their internal context was changed through an imagination task. In each condition, half the participants learned a second list, and the other half fulfilled an unrelated distractor task. Both the forget cue and the change in internal context induced forgetting of the first list only when learning of the second list was interpolated. These results suggest that postcue encoding of new material is crucial for both directed forgetting and (some forms of) context-dependent forgetting.     

Directed forgetting in older adults using the item and list methods

Four experiments investigated age-group differences in directed forgetting. Experiments 1A and 1B used the item method with recall (1A) and recognition (1B). Both of these experiments showed evidence of directed forgetting for both younger and older adults. The list method was used in Experiments 2A (recall) and 2B (recognition). For these experiments, there was directed forgetting when recall, but not recognition, was the dependent measure. Again, these results were found for younger and older adults. These results are discussed in terms of how different presentation types lead to the use of different theoretical mechanisms of directed forgetting (e.g., differential encoding, retrieval inhibition). Thus, it appears that both older and younger adults engage in adaptive memory strategies.     

Inhibiting retrieval of trauma cues in adults reporting histories of childhood sexual abuse

Are people who report having forgotten their childhood sexual abuse (CSA) characterised by superior ability to inhibit retrieval of disturbing material? To test this hypothesis, we asked adults reporting either repressed, recovered, or continuous memories of CSA or no history of CSA to participate in a directed forgetting experiment (list method). They rated the emotionality of two consecutive lists of trauma‐related and positive words. After the first list, the experimenter instructed participants to forget these words, and to continue rating the remaining words. A surprise recall task revealed robust directed forgetting and valence effects: All groups recalled more words from the second list than from the first list, and recalled more trauma words than positive ones. Participants reporting either repressed or recovered memories of CSA did not exhibit superior forgetting of trauma versus positive words relative to the other two groups. Finally, a subsidiary analysis revealed that participants exhibiting a “repressor” coping style (low self‐reported anxiety plus high defensiveness) did not exhibit superior directed forgetting of trauma words.     

Relationship between mental toughness and physical endurance

This study tested the criterion validity of the inventory, Mental Toughness 48, by assessing the correlation between mental toughness and physical endurance for 41 male undergraduate sports students. A significant correlation of .34 was found between scores for overall mental toughness and the time a relative weight could be held suspended. Results support the criterion-related validity of the Mental Toughness 48.     

自我与有意遗忘现象

将自我参照效应的实验范式与字表方式的有意遗忘范式相结合,探讨有意遗忘在自我参照与他人参照条件下的异同。结果表明,在有意遗忘的研究范式下,自我参照加工和他人参照加工的回忆量之间不存在显著差异;但是自我参照条件下出现了有意遗忘现象,而他人参照加工条件下没有表现出有意遗忘现象。这表明,自我参照加工的材料,区辨性很高,因而有意遗忘的指导语激发的抑制作用对它有效,从而出现了遗忘现象。     

The item and list methods of directed forgetting: test differences and the role of demand characteristics

In directed forgetting, the item method presents instructions to remember or to forget individual items; the list method presents a single mid-list instruction to forget the first half of the list. Initial free recall was better for remember (R) words than for forget (F) words under both methods. Offered 50 cents for each additional F word, subjects could recall almost no more items, eliminating a demand characteristics explanation. On a yes/no recognition test, only the item method showed directed forgetting. Retrospective instruction identification was good except for F words under the list method, where performance was at chance. There was no evidence of speed-accuracy tradeoff on the recognition or instruction identification tests. These results bring together the major findings concerning directed forgetting and support a method-based theoretical distinction.     

Item method directed forgetting diminishes false memory

Directed forgetting may reduce DRM false memory illusion by interfering with meaning processing. Participants were presented with a list composed of six 10-word semantically associated sub-lists, and they were either (a) asked to remember all list items of (b) asked to remember all associates from sub-lists and to forget all associates from other sub-lists. All participants were requested to recall and recognise list items. Although directed forgetting effects have been previously reported only for true responses in the DRM paradigm with the list method, we also found directed forgetting for false responses with the item method. Such forgetting instructions reduced both verbatim and meaning processing, decreasing both the intrusion and the false alarm rate. These results are consistent with two-process explanations of DRM false memories, such as fuzzy-trace theory, and add to our understanding of false memory editing.     

Item method directed forgetting diminishes false memory

Directed forgetting may reduce the ORM false memory illusion by interfering with meaning processing. Participants were presented with a list composed of six 10-word semantically associated sub-lists, and they were either (a) asked to remember a ll list it ems or (b) asked to remember all associates from sub-lists and to forget all associates from other sub-lists. All participants were requested to recall and recognise list items. Although directed forgetting effects have been previously reported only for true responses in the ORM paradigm with the list method, we also found directed forgetting for false responses with the item method. Such forgetting instructions reduced both verbatim and meaning processing, decreasing both the intrusion and the false alarm rate. These results are consistent with two-process explanations of DRM false memories, such as fuzzy-trace theory, and add to our understanding of false memory editing.     

Automatic retrieval in directed forgetting

In two experiments, we investigated the role of automatic retrieval in directed forgetting, using a stem completion test. In each experiment, we compared the performance of an implicit group, a process dissociation procedure (PDP) group, and a group given a speeded response task. The response times of the speeded response group on the stem completion task replicated earlier data in suggesting that this group adopted a purely automatic retrieval strategy. Experiment 1 revealed a directed-forgetting effect on automatic retrieval with the item method, but Experiment 2 revealed no directed-forgetting effect on automatic retrieval with the list method, consistent with the lack of implicit effects with the list method throughout the literature. Both experiments showed lower automatic estimates for the PDP group than for the implicit and speeded response groups, which did not differ. The data are consistent with either a selective rehearsal or an inhibition account of directed forgetting with the list method. The comparison of methods for assessing automatic retrieval is consistent with earlier evidence suggesting that subjects may adopt a generate/recognize strategy when given direct retrieval instructions.     

Emotional constraints on intentional forgetting

One way people control the contents of their minds is intentional forgetting—voluntarily forgetting events after they have happened. The events people would most like to forget are unpleasant and emotional. This study used a directed forgetting procedure with emotional and neutral pictures to examine whether people can intentionally forget emotional events as easily as mundane ones. When the to-be-forgotten list was neutral, participants showed successful intentional forgetting. But when the to-be-forgotten list was emotional, directed forgetting failed. Results contribute to understanding the ways that emotion constrains mental control by capturing mental processes including memory retrieval. Emotion may short-circuit attempts to forget those parts of the past people would most like to forget.     

Evidence for age-related equivalence in the directed forgetting paradigm

The directed forgetting paradigm involves, under particular experimental circumstances, inhibitory mechanisms, which operate to the successful forgetting of irrelevant words. The item-by-item cueing method (e.g., Basden & Basden, 1996) was used to investigate the directed forgetting effect in young and old adults. Processing of the experimental words was manipulated between subjects by asking participants to perform either a deep or a shallow orienting task on each word of the study list before the occurrence of the cue (to remember of to forget). Results indicated that the instruction to process deeply both to-be-remembered and to-be-forgotten words led to equivalent directed forgetting effects in young and old adults. These results are discussed with respect to the implications they have for the Inhibitory Deficit theory (e.g., Hasher & Zacks, 1988), which suggests that cognitive aging is mainly characterized by a reduction in the efficiency of inhibitory processes.     

The influence of mental toughness on responses to feedback in snooker: A real-time examination

Two experiments investigated whether mental toughness (MT) is associated with the ability to respond to and/or overcome unwanted information during real-time sport performance. Participants were male snooker players ranging from club to professional level, and MT was measured using the MTQ48 (Clough et al., 2002). In experiment 1, players performed five break-off shots and received deceptive feedback (either positive or negative) from the researcher about their performance relative to other players. Then they performed another five break-offs. Results showed a significant decline in performance following feedback, but no interaction with the nature of feedback or MT variables. In experiment 2, feedback was delivered by a coach and yielded a significant effect on performance. Specifically, negative feedback improved performance while positive feedback impaired performance. The Life Control subscale of the MTQ48 was a significant covariate. The results suggest that negative feedback, delivered constructively by a respected figure, may act as a catalyst for performance enhancement in snooker and that this is moderated by MT.     

List-method directed forgetting: The forget cue improves both encoding and retrieval of postcue information

In list-method directed forgetting, people are cued to forget a previously studied item list and to learn a new list instead. Such cuing typically leads to forgetting of the first list and to memory enhancement of the second, referred to as list 1 forgetting and list 2 enhancement. In the present study, two experiments are reported that examined influences of items' serial learning position in a list and the two lists' output order on list-method directed forgetting. The results show that list output order influences list 2 enhancement but not list 1 forgetting. The enhancement was higher when list 2 was recalled first than when list 1 was recalled first and, in both cases, was higher for early list 2 items than for middle and late list 2 items. In contrast, the forgetting was equally present for all list 1 items and did not depend on the two lists' output order. The findings suggest that two separate factors can contribute to list 2 enhancement: one (encoding) factor that is restricted to early list 2 items and does not depend on list output order, and another (retrieval) factor that pertains to all list 2 items and varies with the two lists' output order. A new two-mechanism account of directed forgetting is suggested that reconciles previous (encoding or retrieval) views on list 2 enhancement.     

A comparison of item and source forgetting

The purpose of the present research was to compare memory for an item with memory for the item’s source. Experiment 1 investigated discrimination between two external sources: each item in a list of words was spoken in either a male or a female voice. Subjects received a test of item recognition and a test of source monitoring at each of four delay intervals (immediate, 30 min, 48 h, 1 week). In contrast with previous research, no evidence of differential forgetting rates for item and source information was found. With delay intervals of 0 and 48 h, Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 while adding a reality monitoring condition that required discrimination between an internal (i.e., self-generated) and an external source. Subjects were better at making internal-external discriminations than at making external-external discriminations, but both types of source monitoring declined at the same rate as memory for the items themselves.     

Context-dependent impairment of recollection in list-method directed forgetting

In list-method directed forgetting, people's ability to forget one of the sets of learned material is examined. Research shows that memory for to-be-forgotten items is impaired when assessed by a recall test and by recognition tests reliant on recollective processes. Retrieval inhibition and context-change mechanisms have been proposed to account for the directed forgetting effects and both of them account for the results obtained with recognition tests. However, the context change account makes a specific prediction that recollection is impaired by directed forgetting only if it makes use of contextual associations. In the present study, directed forgetting was examined with two types of recollection-based tasks making use of different types of associations, namely a list discrimination task utilising contextual associations and an associative recognition task utilising interitem associations. Consistent with the context change account, the costs of directed forgetting were observed in a list discrimination task and were not observed in an associative recognition task. The results indicate that impairment in recollection due to directed forgetting is not general and provide converging evidence to support the context-change account.     

Directed forgetting of complex pictures in an item method paradigm

An item-cued directed forgetting paradigm was used to investigate the ability to control episodic memory and selectively encode complex coloured pictures. A series of photographs was presented to 21 participants who were instructed to either remember or forget each picture after it was presented. Memory performance was later tested with a recognition task where all presented items had to be retrieved, regardless of the initial instructions. A directed forgetting effect--that is, better recognition of "to-be-remembered" than of "to-be-forgotten" pictures--was observed, although its size was smaller than previously reported for words or line drawings. The magnitude of the directed forgetting effect correlated negatively with participants' depression and dissociation scores. The results indicate that, at least in an item method, directed forgetting occurs for complex pictures as well as words and simple line drawings. Furthermore, people with higher levels of dissociative or depressive symptoms exhibit altered memory encoding patterns.     

List-method directed forgetting can be selective: Evidence from the 3-list and the 2-list tasks

When people are cued to forget previously studied irrelevant information and study new information instead, such cuing typically leads to forgetting of the precue information. But what do people forget if, before the forget cue is provided, both irrelevant and relevant information have been encoded? Using relatively short item lists, we examined in a series of three experiments whether participants are able to selectively forget the irrelevant precue information, when relevant and irrelevant precue items were presented subsequently in two separate lists (3-list task) and when the two types of items were presented alternatingly within a single list (2-list task). Selective forgetting of the irrelevant precue items arose in the 3-list task, independent of modality of item presentation and level of discriminability of the precue lists, and it arose in the 2-list task. The findings suggest that, at least with relatively short precue lists, participants may well be able to selectively forget irrelevant precue information when cued to do so. Implications of the results for theoretical accounts of list-method directed forgetting are discussed.