Abstract
Retrieval-induced forgetting refers to a paradoxical occurrence wherein the act of remembering some material disrupts the retrieval of other, related material (see, e.g., M. C. Anderson, R. A. Bjork, & E. L. Bjork, 1994). This effect is generally accounted for in terms of inhibitory processes. Across three experiments, we test the inhibitory account of retrieval-induced forgetting, as well as whether there may be a strategy disruption component to the effect. In our first two experiments, we manipulate which items individuals are cued to recall during retrieval practice and demonstrate that retrievalinduced forgetting can be neutralized when those items do not interfere with the individual’s retrieval strategy. In the third experiment, we confirm this finding with a different set of stimuli. These results are inconsistent with a purely inhibitory account of retrieval-induced forgetting, and we discuss implications for inhibition theory and strategy disruption in light of these and other findings.
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This research was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada postgraduate scholarships to M.D.D. and A.D.C. We thank Colin MacLeod for providing valuable methodological insight and Karl-Heinz Bäuml, Michael Anderson, Norman Farb, and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.
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Dodd, M.D., Castel, A.D. & Roberts, K.E. A strategy disruption component to retrieval-induced forgetting. Memory & Cognition 34, 102–111 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193390
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193390