ERIC Number: EJ933786
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jan
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 57
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
Individual Differences in Working Memory Capacity Predict Retrieval-Induced Forgetting
Aslan, Alp; Bauml, Karl-Heinz T.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v37 n1 p264-269 Jan 2011
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. (Contains 2 footnotes, 1 figure and 1 table.)
Descriptors: Young Adults, Short Term Memory, Recall (Psychology), Correlation, Inhibition, Cognitive Processes, Visual Stimuli, Problem Solving, Equations (Mathematics), Experimental Psychology
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: N/A

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