Disrupting attention: The need for retrieval cues in working memory theories

Sometimes in conversation, something is said that causes us to want to comment, but before our impending but implicit thoughts can be expressed, the conversation is disrupted. Later, we cannot recall what we wanted to say, but still later, we can. We used the extralist cuing task to model this phenomenon, and across experiments we varied the strength, direction, and directness of the relationship between the retrieval cues and the targeted information. Disruption was varied by switching attention to a different task before testing and by changing the testing context. Such disruptions reduced recall for the target and its implicitly activated memories. Following a disruption, stronger cues that were related to the target or to both the target and its implicit memories were more effective than those that were related to implicit memories. The findings were consistent with a model of long-term working memory that attributes forgetting to a loss of access to what has been activated, which loss is relative to the strength of the retrieval cue. Decay alone does not explain the results, indicating that many models of working memory need to be revised to take the nature of retrieval cues into account.     

The influence of directional associations on directed forgetting and interference

Two experiments examined how cross-list directional associations influenced list-method directed forgetting and the degree of interference observed on each list. Each List 1 item had a (a) bidirectionally related item on List 2 (chip <----> potato), (b) forward association with an item on List 2 (chip --> wood), (c) backward association from an item on List 2 (chip <-- chisel), or (d) no relationship with List 2 items. The results revealed that associative relationships that eliminated retroactive interference in the baseline condition also eliminated the directed forgetting costs. In contrast, associative relationships did not affect List 2 recall in the forget group, which remained unchanged across experimental conditions. However, certain conditions reduced proactive interference in the remember group, thereby eliminating the benefits of directed forgetting. The directed forgetting costs and benefits were observed independently of each other. The authors propose that these effects emerged from a combination of item and context strengthening induced by different associative directions.     

Oh, honey, I already forgot that: strategic control of directed forgetting in older and younger adults

Two experiments investigated list-method directed forgetting with older and younger adults. Using standard directed forgetting instructions, significant forgetting was obtained with younger but not older adults. However, in Experiment 1 older adults showed forgetting with an experimenter-provided strategy that induced a mental context change--specifically, engaging in diversionary thought. Experiment 2 showed that age-related differences in directed forgetting occurred because older adults were less likely than younger adults to initiate a strategy to attempt to forget. When the instructions were revised to downplay their concerns about memory, older adults engaged in effective forgetting strategies and showed significant directed forgetting comparable in magnitude to younger adults. The results highlight the importance of strategic processes in directed forgetting.     

Experiencing a word can prime its accessibility and its associative connections to related words

This paper reports the results of manipulations of word features for the magnitude of priming effects. In Experiment 1, the printed frequency of the target words and the number of connections among their associates were varied, and during testing participants were given cues and asked to produce the first word to come to mind as rapidly as possible in implicit free association. Priming effects were greater for low-frequency words and for those with many connections among their associates. In Experiments 2 and 3, target words were presented under incidental or intentional learning conditions during study, and the presence of direct preexisting connections from target to cue and from cue to target was varied. Priming effects were greater when either connection was present, with each connection having additive effects. In Experiments 4 and 5, priming effects for indirect links (shared associates and mediators) were examined. The results of these experiments indicate that priming in free association depends on both the general accessibility of the target as a response and the strengthening of direct target-to-cue connections. These findings raise problems for theories that attribute priming only to target accessibility or only to target-to-cue association.     

How does delayed testing reduce effects of implicit memory: Context infusion or cuing with context?

Studying a word implicitly activates related associates that affect its recall in the extralist cuing task. Recall is more likely when one of these associates becomes the test cue and when other associates of the studied word activate this associate. Context disruptions occurring between study and test reduce these effects, suggesting that implicitly activated memories are linked to context. The context infusion hypothesis assumes that context information spreads throughout a word's associative network during study, decreasing with distance from the studied word. Interactive cuing assumes that context is linked only to the studied word and that recall is based on retrieving information from the test cue and the context. The infusion hypothesis predicts that effects of disruptions will depend on link distance whereas interactive cuing predicts that distance will have no effect. The experiments evaluate these explanations by manipulating target-to-cue strength, associate-to-cue strength, and context disruption. Experiment 1 varies disruption by testing under the same or different conditions (room, modality, experimenter). Experiment 2 tests recall immediately or after 5 m, 10 m, or 20 m of multiplication. The results are inconsistent with context infusion and support the interactive cuing explanation.     

Implicitly activated memories are associated to general context cues

Words having more densely entangled associative structures are more likely to be recalled in the presence of related extralist cues. A context-modified PIER2 model predicts that the implicit activation of such structures during study connects them to the context of the learning episode. In two experiments, we evaluated this assumption by varying the associative density of the study words and the accessibility of context information. In Experiment 1, we varied context accessibility by manipulating context awareness and by delaying testing and filling the delay with different types of interfering tasks. In Experiment 2, we varied accessibility by manipulating test delay and type of interference in a factorial design. The effects of associative density were reduced by using implicit testing that never refers to context, by performing interpolated interference tasks, and finally, by extending the length of the delay. Information that is implicitly activated during an episodic experience is associated to the context of that experience.     

The power of the majority: Social conformity in sexual harassment punishment selection

In his famous social conformity experiments in the 1950's, Asch found 75% of participants conformed to confederates’ incorrect answers at least once, with an overall conformity rate of 32%, revealing that humans are highly likely to conform to group behavior even when that behavior is clearly wrong. The purpose of this study was to determine if the social conformity effect generalized to scenarios involving sexual harassment punishment selections in the workplace. Participants read various workplace sexual harassment scenarios and then witnessed four confederates chose one of three types of punishments (verbal warning, 1-week suspension, or termination). The confederates stated aloud punishments that were either appropriate (i.e., similar to normative data) or inappropriate (i.e., deviating either too harshly or leniently to normative data). Participants then provided their punishments selection aloud, and confidentially rated their decision confidence. We found an overall conformity rate of 46%, as 82.67% conformed at least once to harsh or lenient punishment selections. Participants who conformed to incorrect punishment selections exhibited lower levels of decision confidence, indicating that conformity may have been due more to social normative influence. The current results imply the social responses of others (i.e., coworkers, supervisors, or HR) can impact responses to sexual harassment. The results imply that social influence may be a significant contributing factor in mislabeling, misreporting, or inappropriately punishing sexual harassment in some organizations.     

Strengthening the activation of unconsciously activated memories

Reading a word activates a set of associated words-for example, reading CAB activates car, driver, and other associates. This research was conducted to determine whether the unconscious activation of these associates adds activation to other associates in the same set. Words were studied, and recall was tested with cues comprised of associates directly activated by the target. On the basis of preexisting links, the associates serving as test cues also received strong (e.g., car) or weak (e.g., driver) additional inputs from other associates in the set. Cues receiving stronger inputs from other associates were more effective, indicating that unconsciously activated associates strengthen one another. This effect declined when conditions disrupted the retrieval of context features linked to the episode. Attending to another task during or after study or receiving implicit test instructions decreased the effects of input from other associates. Importantly, disruptions affected input from other associates more than direct input from the target, suggesting that the influence of context wanes as the links in the network become more distant.     

What is preexisting strength? Predicting free association probabilities,similarity ratings,and cued recall probabilities

Measuring lexical knowledge poses a challenge to the study of the influence of preexisting knowledge on the retrieval of new memories. Many tasks focus on word pairs, but words are embedded in associative networks, so how should preexisting pair strength be measured? It has been measured by free association, similarity ratings, and co-occurrence statistics. Researchers interpret free association response probabilities as unbiased estimates of forward cue-to-target strength. In Study 1, analyses of large free association and extralist cued recall databases indicate that this interpretation is incorrect. Competitor and backward strengths bias free association probabilities, and as with other recall tasks, preexisting strength is described by a ratio rule. In Study 2, associative similarity ratings are predicted by forward and backward, but not by competitor, strength. Preexisting strength is not a unitary construct, because its measurement varies with method. Furthermore, free association probabilities predict extralist cued recall better than do ratings and co-occurrence statistics. The measure that most closely matches the criterion task may provide the best estimate of the identity of preexisting strength.     

Semantic integration as a boundary condition on inhibitory processes in episodic retrieval

Recalling an experience often impairs the later retention of related traces, a phenomenon known as retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF). Research has shown that episodic associations protect competing memories from RIF (Anderson & McCulloch, 1999). We report 4 experiments that examined whether semantic associations also protect against RIF. In all experiments, robust RIF occurred when there were few associations between practiced and nonpracticed sets, but RIF was abolished when there were many. The benefits of semantic integration were independent of episodic integration strategies and were not mediated by intentional use of the associations. Rather, these results establish a new boundary condition on RIF--semantic integration--that has a potent impact on the magnitude of RIF and may explain variability in the RIF phenomenon.