Forgetting is
not always a bad thing! In fact,
forgetting is an adaptive process that helps us to remember. By inhibiting information we do not want to
recall, we are able to retrieve information that we do.
One way I aim to investigate the role of inhibition in
forgetting is through directed forgetting, contextual change and retrieval-induced
forgetting. Directed forgetting, first studied by Bjork,
LaBerge and LeGrand (1968), demonstrates the ability to intentionally forget
items. Specifically, in the list method of directed forgetting participants are told to
either remember or forget a list of words (List 1) after presentation of the
entire list. All participants are then
instructed to remember a second list (List 2).
At test, participants who are told to forget List 1 recall fewer List 1
words than participants told to remember List 1. In
addition, participants told to forget List 1 also recall more List 2 words than
participants told to remember List 1.
Similar results are found through a process called
contextual change (Sahakyan & Kelley, 2002), where participants are
told to
change their mental context in lieu of a “forget” instruction. Finally,
retrieval-induced forgetting (Anderson, Bjork & Bjork,1994) is a
phenomenon that demonstrates inhibitory functioning because we inhibit
certain items when retrieving other, very similar items in memory.
I use these three paradigms to answer the broad question: What is the role of inhibition in intentional and unintentional forgetting? What are other underlying mechanisms involved in forgetting? Furthermore, I am interested in studying ways to reduce blocking (the temporary inaccessibility of the correct answer due to intrusions) and fixation in memory. I study the Memory Blocking Effect (Smith & Tindell, 1997) and use the Remote Associates Task (Mednick, 1962) to see how people overcome blocking and fixation. I want to know:
What is the role of inhibition in overcoming fixation?
Currently I study normal populations, but I would like to study specialized populations and circumstances. This includes: Effects of alcohol on inhibition Inhibition in older populations Inhibitory functioning in people suffering from Alzheimer's disease UIC Research Assistant [http://www.psch.uic.edu/underresearchcredit.asp]: If you are interested in joining the lab as an undergraduate research assistant, please click here to fill out an online application. |