Examining the costs and benefits of inhibition in memory retrieval

Inhibitory control is thought to serve an adaptive function in controlling behavior, with individual differences predicting variation in numerous cognitive functions. However, inhibition is more properly construed as inducing both benefits and costs to performance. Benefits arise at the point when inhibition prevents expression of an unwanted or contextually inappropriate response; costs arise later, when access to the inhibited representation is required by other processes. Here we illustrate how failure to consider both the costs and benefits of inhibition has generated confusion in the literature on individual differences in cognitive control. Using retrieval-induced forgetting as a model case, we illustrate this by showing that changing the way that retrieval-induced forgetting is measured to allow greater expression of the benefits of inhibition together with the costs can reduce and even reverse the theoretically predicted correlation between motor and memory inhibition. Specifically, we show that when the final test in a retrieval-induced forgetting procedure employs item-specific cues (i.e., category-plus-stem cued recall and item-recognition) that better isolate the lingering costs of inhibition, better motor response inhibition (faster stop-signal reaction times) predicts greater retrieval-induced forgetting. In striking contrast, when the final test is less well controlled, allowing both the costs and benefits of inhibition to contribute, motor response inhibition has the opposite relationship with retrieval-induced forgetting. These findings underscore the importance of considering the correlated costs and benefits problem when studying individual differences in inhibitory control. More generally, they suggest that a shared inhibition mechanism may underlie people’s ability to control memories and actions.     

Effect of circadian rhythms on retrieval-induced forgetting

This study investigated the effects of natural circadian rhythms on retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF; Anderson et al. in J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 20:1063–1087, 1994). Individuals tested at optimal times (i.e., morning persons tested in the morning and evening persons tested in the evening) showed a significantly greater RIF effect than individuals tested at non-optimal times (i.e., morning persons tested in the evening and evening persons tested in the morning). Thus, the limited quantity of resources available to allocate in the inhibitory activity during non-optimal times produced a significant decrement in RIF. These findings are compatible with the inhibitory account of RIF and with the notion of a resource-demanding process underlying this memory phenomenon.     

Individual differences in working memory capacity predict retrieval-induced forgetting

Selectively retrieving a subset of previously studied information enhances memory for the retrieved information but causes forgetting of related, nonretrieved information. Such retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) has often been attributed to inhibitory executive-control processes that supposedly suppress the nonretrieved items' memory representation. Here, we examined the role of working memory capacity (WMC) in young adults' RIF. WMC was assessed by means of the operation span task. Results revealed a positive relationship between WMC and RIF, with high-WMC individuals showing more RIF than low-WMC individuals. In contrast, individuals showed enhanced memory for retrieved information regardless of WMC. The results are consistent with previous individual-differences work that suggests a close link between WMC and inhibitory efficiency. In particular, the finding supports the inhibitory executive-control account of RIF.     

Theta oscillations predict the detrimental effects of memory retrieval

Retrieving a target item from episodic memory typically enhances later memory for the retrieved item but causes forgetting of competing irrelevant memories. This finding is termed retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) and is assumed to be the consequence of an inhibitory mechanism resolving retrieval competition. In the present study, we examined brain oscillatory processes related to RIF, as induced by competitive memory retrieval. Contrasting a competitive with a noncompetitive retrieval condition, we found a stronger increase in early evoked theta (4–7 Hz) activity, which specifically predicted RIF, but not retrieval-induced enhancement. Within the cognitive framework of RIF, these findings suggest that theta oscillations reflect arising interference and its resolution during competitive retrieval in episodic memory. Supplemental materials for this article may be downloaded from http://cabn.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.     

Retrieval-induced forgetting of performed and observed bizarre and familiar actions

To investigate whether people show retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) for bizarre and familiar actions that they performed or observed, three experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, participants performed bizarre and familiar actions with different objects during learning (e.g., pencil: balance the pencil across the cup, sharpen the pencil). They repeatedly performed a set of the bizarre or familiar actions during retrieval practice. After a distracter task, participants' cued recall was tested. Participants showed RIF for both bizarre and familiar actions. In Experiment 2, half of the participants performed the bizarre and familiar actions themselves; the other half observed the experimenter performing the actions. Replicating the results of Experiment 1, participants who performed the actions showed RIF for bizarre and familiar actions. In contrast, participants who observed the actions did not show RIF for either action type. Experiment 3 examined whether this lack of RIF for observed actions occurred due to a lack of active recall during retrieval practice; it did. Overall, the three experiments demonstrated RIF for both bizarre and familiar performed and observed actions. A distinctiveness account of the results is provided.     

社会分享型提取诱发遗忘的性别差异：来自关系动机的影响作用

社会互动提取任务中,说者的选择性提取会造成听者对相关内容的遗忘,这被称为社会分享型提取诱发遗忘。本研究基于关系动机的视角,分别考察女性组合和男性组合条件下,听者社会分享型提取诱发遗忘的表现特点。结果表明,女性组合中的听者在同性别说者在场的条件下,出现了社会分享型提取诱发遗忘;而男性组合中的听者在同性别说者在场的条件下,无该现象出现。以上结果为关系动机影响社会分享型提取诱发遗忘提供了实证证据。     

Are the inhibitory and faciliatory effects during retrieval of semantically related items present in amnestic mild cognitive impairment?

Prefrontal functions subserve inhibition control for retrieval of semantically related items inducing forgetting 19 a-MCI patients and 29 controls underwent neuropsychological evaluation and retrieval-practice paradigm (RPP) to estimate baseline remember (BR), retrieval-induced facilitation (FAC) and retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). A-MCI patients underwent also 3 T-MRI to assess relationship between regional grey matter (rGM) volumes and RPP indexes Behaviourally, RIF and FAC were both observed controls, while RIF only was observed in a-MCI patients. In patients but not in controls, RIF was associated with cognitive efficiency and FAC with memory performance. Patients showed also associations between BR and rGM volumes in the precuneus, no association was found between rGM volumes and RIF and FAC. A-MCI patients did not benefit from repeated practice during retrieval of studied items, which is likely due to their memory disorder. In contrast, patient cognitive efficiency would drive retrieval suppression of interfering stimuli.     

Effects of repeated retrieval of central and peripheral details in complex emotional slides

Research has demonstrated that repeated retrieval enhances memory for practised verbal information, but undermines correct recall of unpractised related verbal information, a phenomenon known as retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). This paper addresses the question of what happens with memory for unrehearsed aspects of an emotional picture when retrieval of other aspects of that picture is practised. In two experiments we investigated whether repeated retrieval of certain details of negative emotional slides undermines recall of unrehearsed details of such slides. In Experiment 1 retrieval of peripheral details was practised. The results demonstrated that recall for peripheral details was enhanced. However, correct recall of unpractised central details remained unaffected. Furthermore, retrieval practice did not alter the number of commission errors. Experiment 2 revealed that repeated retrieval of central details enhanced memory for these details. Although more commission errors were produced, again correct recall was not impaired for the unrehearsed central and peripheral details. This failure to find retrieval-induced forgetting effects for complex visual material is at odds with the RIF literature, and potential reasons for this are discussed. The data also extend previous studies in demonstrating that extensive retrieval can increase the number of commission errors.     

Retrieval-Induced Forgetting and Executive Control

ABSTRACT— Retrieving information from long-term memory can lead people to forget previously irrelevant related information. Some researchers have proposed that this retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) effect is mediated by inhibitory executive-control mechanisms recruited to overcome interference. We assessed whether inhibition in RIF depends on executive processes. The RIF effect observed in a standard retrieval-practice condition was compared to that observed in two different conditions in which participants had to perform two concurrent updating tasks that demanded executive attention. Whereas the usual RIF effect was observed when retrieval practice was performed singly, no evidence of forgetting was found in the dual-task conditions. Results strongly suggest that inhibition involved in RIF is the result of executive-control processes.     

他人在场条件下的社会分享型提取诱发遗忘

在社会互动的提取小组中, 说者的选择性提取可能会导致听者对未提及但相关内容的遗忘, 这被称为社会分享型提取诱发遗忘。本研究实验1首先考察了有无真实他人在场对社会分享型提取诱发遗忘的影响, 结果显示只有在真实他人在场条件下, 该现象才会出现, 说明社会分享型提取诱发遗忘受到听者对自下而上的社会互动情境加工的影响。实验2进一步考察了在他人在场条件下, 个体的抑制控制能力对社会分享型提取诱发遗忘的影响, 结果显示该现象只与其作为说者时的个体提取诱发遗忘效应大小有关, 提示了社会分享型提取诱发遗忘与个体提取诱发遗忘过程类似, 都会受到个体自上而下的排除竞争项目侵入记忆的无意抑制能力的影响。研究结果为理解人际交流情形下个体记忆的形成与改变提供了重要启发。     

Silence is not golden: a case for socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting

The present research explored the effect of selective remembering and the resulting "silences" on memory. In particular, we examined whether unmentioned information is more likely to be forgotten by a listener if related information is recollected by the speaker than if related information is not recollected by the speaker. In a modification of the retrieval-induced forgetting paradigm, pairs of individuals studied material, but in the practice phase, only one member of each pair selectively recalled it, while the other listened. Experiment 1 employed paired associates, and Experiment 2 used stories. Experiment 3 involved not controlled practice, but free-flowing conversation. In each case, results from a final memory test established not only within-individual retrieval-induced forgetting, but also socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting. The results demonstrate that listening to a speaker remember selectively can induce forgetting of related information in the listener.     

Retrieval-induced forgetting in recall and recognition of thematically related and unrelated sentences

In three experiments, we assessed the effects of type of relation and memory test on retrieval-induced forgetting of facts. In Experiments 1 and 2, eight sets of four shared-subject sentences were presented for study. They were constructed so that half were thematically related and half were unrelated. A retrieval practice phase required participants to recall a subset of the studied sentences. In the final test, the participants were prompted to recall all the sentences (character cued in Experiment 1 and character plus stem cued in Experiment 2). The results showed that the retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) effect was similar for thematically related and unrelated sentences, indicating that the presence of episodic relations among the sentences was sufficient to produce the effect. In Experiment 3, a recognition task was introduced and the RIF effect emerged in accuracy as well as in latency measures. The presence of this effect with item-specific cues is difficult to accommodate for noninhibitory theories of retrieval.     

Gone but not forgotten: the transient nature of retrieval-induced forgetting

Recent research has demonstrated that the act of remembering can prompt temporary forgetting or, more specifically, the inhibition of particular items in memory. Extending work of this kind, the present research investigated some possible boundary conditions of retrieval-induced forgetting. As expected, a critical determinant of temporary forgetting was the interval between guided retrieval practice and a final recall test. When these two phases were separated by 24 hr, retrieval-induced forgetting failed to emerge. When they occurred in the same testing session, however, retrieval practice prompted the inhibition of related items in memory (i.e., Experiment 1). A delay of 24 hr between the encoding of material and guided retrieval practice reduced but did not eliminate retrieval-induced forgetting (i.e., Experiment 2). These findings are considered in the wider context of adaptive forgetting.     

Noncompetitive retrieval practice causes retrieval-induced forgetting in cued recall but not in recognition

Retrieving a subset of learned items can lead to the forgetting of related items. Such retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) can be explained by the inhibition of irrelevant items in order to overcome retrieval competition when the target item is retrieved. According to the retrieval inhibition account, such retrieval competition is a necessary condition for RIF. However, research has indicated that noncompetitive retrieval practice can also cause RIF by strengthening cue–item associations. According to the strength-dependent competition account, the strengthened items interfere with the retrieval of weaker items, resulting in impaired recall of weaker items in the final memory test. The aim of this study was to replicate RIF caused by noncompetitive retrieval practice and to determine whether this forgetting is also observed in recognition tests. In the context of RIF, it has been assumed that recognition tests circumvent interference and, therefore, should not be sensitive to forgetting due to strength-dependent competition. However, this has not been empirically tested, and it has been suggested that participants may reinstate learned cues as retrieval aids during the final test. In the present experiments, competitive practice or noncompetitive practice was followed by either final cued-recall tests or recognition tests. In cued-recall tests, RIF was observed in both competitive and noncompetitive conditions. However, in recognition tests, RIF was observed only in the competitive condition and was absent in the noncompetitive condition. The result underscores the contribution of strength-dependent competition to RIF. However, recognition tests seem to be a reliable way of distinguishing between RIF due to retrieval inhibition or strength-dependent competition.     

A strategy disruption component to retrieval-induced forgetting

Retrieval-induced forgetting refers to a paradoxical occurrence wherein the act of remembering some material disrupts the retrieval of other, related material (see, e.g., M. C. Anderson, R. A. Bjork, & E. L. Bjork, 1994). This effect is generally accounted for in terms of inhibitory processes. Across three experiments, we test the inhibitory account of retrieval-induced forgetting, as well as whether there may be a strategy disruption component to the effect. In our first two experiments, we manipulate which items individuals are cued to recall during retrieval practice and demonstrate that retrieval-induced forgetting can be neutralized when those items do not interfere with the individual's retrieval strategy. In the third experiment, we confirm this finding with a different set of stimuli. These results are inconsistent with a purely inhibitory account of retrieval-induced forgetting, and we discuss implications for inhibition theory and strategy disruption in light of these and other findings.     

Retrieval-practice task affects relationship between working memory capacity and retrieval-induced forgetting

Retrieving a subset of items from memory can cause forgetting of other items in memory, a phenomenon referred to as retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). Individuals who exhibit greater amounts of RIF have been shown to also exhibit superior working memory capacity (WMC) and faster stop-signal reaction times (SSRTs), results which have been interpreted as suggesting that RIF reflects an inhibitory process that is mediated by the processes of executive control. Across four experiments, we sought to further elucidate this issue by manipulating the way in which participants retrieved items during retrieval practice and examining how the resulting effects of forgetting correlated with WMC (Experiments 1–3) and SSRT (Experiment 4). Significant correlations were observed when participants retrieved items from an earlier study phase (within-list retrieval practice), but not when participants generated items from semantic memory (extra-list retrieval practice). These results provide important new insight into the role of executive-control processes in RIF.     

Retrieval-induced forgetting of arithmetic facts across cultures

Retrieving a single-digit multiplication fact (3×4 =12) can slow response time (RT) for the corresponding addition fact (3+4=7). The present experiment investigated effects of problem type (i.e., tie addition problems such as 3+3 vs. non-ties such as 3+4) and cultural background on this retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) phenomenon in young adults. Canadians answering in English (n=36), Chinese adults answering in English (n=36), and Chinese answering in Chinese (n=36) received four blocks of multiplication practice and then two blocks of the addition counterparts and control additions. Tie addition problems presented a robust RIF effect that did not differ between groups, but only the Canadian group showed RIF for non-ties and only for small non-ties with sum≤10 (3+4). The Chinese groups' RIF effect for addition ties, but not small non-ties, converges with recent evidence that ties are solved by direct memory retrieval whereas small non-ties may be solved by highly efficient procedural processes in skilled performers.     

Providing corrective feedback during retrieval practice does not increase retrieval-induced forgetting

Recalling a subset of studied materials can impair subsequent retrieval of related, nontested materials. In two experiments, we examined the influence of providing corrective feedback (no feedback, immediate feedback, delayed feedback) during retrieval practice on this retrieval-induced forgetting effect. Performance was assessed with category cued recall (e.g., recall all exemplars studied under Weather), category-and-stem cued recall (e.g., Weather–B___), and recognition. We report a dissociation between the effects of feedback on memory of the tested materials and the nontested materials. Whereas providing immediate or delayed feedback (compared to no feedback) improved recall and recognition of the tested items, it had no influence on retrieval-induced forgetting. These results are consistent with the inhibition account of retrieval-induced forgetting. From an applied perspective, this finding is encouraging for students and educators who use testing to foster learning.     

The costs and benefits of testing text materials

Tests have been shown to improve the later recall of tested information, a result known as the testing effect. Tests, however, can also impair the later recall of related information, an effect known as retrieval-induced forgetting. Although retrieval-induced forgetting has been demonstrated using a wide variety of materials, recent work suggests that learning information in the context of a coherent text passage may afford protection from retrieval-induced forgetting. In four experiments we explored the conditions under which retrieval-induced forgetting does and does not occur with such materials. We found that two factors—the coherence of the to-be-learned material and the competitiveness of retrieval practice—are important in determining whether retrieval-induced forgetting does or does not occur. Furthermore, even if retrieval-induced forgetting does occur, having the opportunity to restudy the forgotten information can prevent that forgetting from persisting. Taken together, these findings provide greater understanding of the costs and benefits of testing text materials, with possible implications for the optimisation of testing as a tool for learning in educational contexts.     

The costs and benefits of testing text materials

Tests have been shown to improve the later recall of tested information, a result known as the testing effect. Tests, however, can also impair the later recall of related information, an effect known as retrieval-induced forgetting. Although retrieval-induced forgetting has been demonstrated using a wide variety of materials, recent work suggests that learning information in the context of a coherent text passage may afford protection from retrieval-induced forgetting. In four experiments we explored the conditions under which retrieval-induced forgetting does and does not occur with such materials. We found that two factors-the coherence of the to-be-learned material and the competitiveness of retrieval practice-are important in determining whether retrieval-induced forgetting does or does not occur. Furthermore, even if retrieval-induced forgetting does occur, having the opportunity to restudy the forgotten information can prevent that forgetting from persisting. Taken together, these findings provide greater understanding of the costs and benefits of testing text materials, with possible implications for the optimisation of testing as a tool for learning in educational contexts.