Retrieval-induced forgetting in young children |
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Authors: | Alp Aslan Karl-Heinz T Bäuml |
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Institution: | Department of Experimental Psychology, Regensburg University, Regensburg, Germany. alp.aslan@psychologie.uni-regensburg.de |
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Abstract: | A prominent theory of cognitive development attributes the poor performance that children show in many cognitive tasks to
a general lack of inhibitory control. We tested this theory by examining children’s inhibitory capabilities in retrieval-induced
forgetting (RIF), a memory task in which selective retrieval of previously studied material causes forgetting of related,
nonretrieved material. Such forgetting is often attributed to inhibitory control processes, which supposedly suppress the
nonretrieved items’ memory representation. We examined RIF in kindergartners, second graders, and adults, using both recall
and recognition testing. Although all three age groups showed significant RIF in recall, only adults and second graders, but
not kindergartners, showed RIF in recognition. Because inhibition-based RIF should be present in recall and recognition, these findings indicate that in adults and second graders, but not in kindergartners, RIF is mediated by inhibition.
The results support the view of inefficient inhibitory processes in young children’s cognition. |
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