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Psychology Faculty Research

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Forgetting

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Full-Text Articles in Psychology

Ruminators (Unlike Others) Fail To Show Suppression-Induced Forgetting On Indirect Measures Of Memory, Paula T. Hertel, Amaris Maydon, Ashley Ogilvie, Nilly Mor Jan 2018

Ruminators (Unlike Others) Fail To Show Suppression-Induced Forgetting On Indirect Measures Of Memory, Paula T. Hertel, Amaris Maydon, Ashley Ogilvie, Nilly Mor

Psychology Faculty Research

Suppression is a useful everyday skill leading to the clinically important outcome of forgetting. Suppression-induced forgetting, investigated with the think/no-think (TNT) paradigm, is typically demonstrated on direct tests of memory, even though indirect tests are often more ecologically valid. We report results from two TNT experiments terminating in indirect tests—tests that seem not to measure memory. For a subset of the participants in Experiment 1, latencies to rate word valence were delayed by flankers previously learned but not by flankers previously learned and then suppressed on 16 occasions. For a similar subset in Experiment 2, cue meaning denoted by free …


Distracted By Cues For Suppressed Memories, Paula T. Hertel, Jeffrey A. Hayes Jun 2015

Distracted By Cues For Suppressed Memories, Paula T. Hertel, Jeffrey A. Hayes

Psychology Faculty Research

We examined the potential cost of practicing suppression of negative thoughts for subsequent performance in an unrelated task. Cues for previously suppressed and baseline responses in a think/no-think procedure were displayed as irrelevant flankers for neutral words to be judged for emotional valence. These critical flankers were homographs with one negative meaning denoted by their paired responses during learning. Suppression cues as flankers delayed responding to the targets, compared to baseline cues and new negative homographs, but only following direct-suppression instructions and not when benign substitutes had been provided to aid suppression. On the final recall test, suppression-induced forgetting (SIF) …


Cognition In Emotional Disorders: An Abundance Of Habit And A Dearth Of Control, Paula T. Hertel Jan 2015

Cognition In Emotional Disorders: An Abundance Of Habit And A Dearth Of Control, Paula T. Hertel

Psychology Faculty Research

Emotional and other psychological disorders are categories of experience identified at least in part by the goal of having treatment plans for people in distress. Because the categories exist for such purposes, research efforts are organized to discover distinctions among the categories and between disordered and nondisordered individuals. Many of these distinctions are cognitive. When clinical scientists began experimental studies, the term “cognitive” had been used to refer primarily to conscious thoughts that characterize disorders (see Beck, 1976), but in more recent decades the term signifies an experimental approach framed according to the theories and paradigms of cognitive psychology. In …


Suppression-Induced Reduction In The Specificity Of Autobiographical Memories, Elizabeth Stephens, Amy Braid, Paula T. Hertel Oct 2013

Suppression-Induced Reduction In The Specificity Of Autobiographical Memories, Elizabeth Stephens, Amy Braid, Paula T. Hertel

Psychology Faculty Research

To extend its relevance to everyday forgetting, we applied the think/no-think (TNT) suppression method devised by Anderson and Green (2001) to autobiographical memories. Dysphoric and nondysphoric participants first generated autobiographical memories and corresponding titles to neutral and emotionally positive or negative cues. During the TNT phase, participants repeatedly practiced responding to some cues with their associated titles and avoiding thoughts about titles and memories associated with other cues. Later, they were asked to report memories associated with all cues, including baseline cues not presented during the TNT phase. Results revealed impaired recall, as measured by reductions in specificity, for suppressed …


Suppression-Induced Forgetting On A Free-Association Test, Paula T. Hertel, Daniel Large, Ellen Stuck, Allison Levy Jan 2012

Suppression-Induced Forgetting On A Free-Association Test, Paula T. Hertel, Daniel Large, Ellen Stuck, Allison Levy

Psychology Faculty Research

The repeated suppression of thoughts in response to cues for their expression leads to forgetting on a subsequent test of cued recall (Anderson & Green, 2001). We extended this effect by using homograph cues and presenting them for free association following suppression practice. Cue-target pairs were first learned under integrating imagery instructions; then in the think/no-think phase students practiced suppressing thoughts connected to some homograph cues, with or without the assistance of thought substitutes that changed their meaning. Below-baseline forgetting on the subsequent free-association test was found in the production of suppressed targets. Following aided suppression, this effect was also …


The Suppressive Power Of Positive Thinking: Aiding Suppression-Induced Forgetting In Repressive Coping, Paula T. Hertel, L. Mcdaniel Jan 2010

The Suppressive Power Of Positive Thinking: Aiding Suppression-Induced Forgetting In Repressive Coping, Paula T. Hertel, L. Mcdaniel

Psychology Faculty Research

Participants scoring high and low on a measure of repressive coping style (Mendolia, 2002) first learned a series of related word pairs (cue-target). Half of the cues were homographs. In the subsequent think/no-think phase (Anderson & Green, 2001), they responded with targets on some trials and suppressed thoughts of targets on others. Suppressed targets were always emotionally negative, as were targets associated with baseline cues reserved for the final test. Some participants were provided with emotionally benign or positive substitutes to help them suppress, and these substitutes were related to different meanings of the homographic cues, compared to those established …


Depression-Related Differences In Learning And Forgetting Responses To Unrelated Cues, Paula T. Hertel, A. Mahan Jan 2008

Depression-Related Differences In Learning And Forgetting Responses To Unrelated Cues, Paula T. Hertel, A. Mahan

Psychology Faculty Research

Using the think/no-think paradigm, we examined the effect of a meaningful connection between emotionally neutral cues and targets on initial learning and later recall by students in dysphoric or nondysphoric mood states. Compared to meaningfully connected cue-target pairs, unrelated pairs were less easily learned and more easily forgotten, even when initial learning was controlled. Depressive deficits were obtained in initial learning (only marginally) and final recall. When examined separately within each cuing condition, the recall deficit associated with depressed mood was restricted to the unrelated condition, but when initial learning differences were controlled this deficit was only marginally significant. Results …


Intentional Forgetting Benefits From Thought Substitution, Paula T. Hertel, G. Calcaterra Jun 2005

Intentional Forgetting Benefits From Thought Substitution, Paula T. Hertel, G. Calcaterra

Psychology Faculty Research

This study provides both experimental and correlational evidence that forgetting in the think/no-think paradigm (Anderson & Green, 2001) is sensitive to the substitution of thoughts about new events forthoughts that are to be suppressed. All the participants learned a list of adjective-noun pairs. Then the adjectives were presented as cues for recalling half of the nouns and as cues for suppressing the other half, 0, 2, or 12 times. Aided participants were provided with substitute nouns, to use during suppression. On a final test that requested recall of all initially learned nouns, aided participants showed evidence of below-baseline forgetting of …