![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
A speaker's selective recounting of memories shared with a listener will induce both the speaker and the listener to forget unmentioned, related material more than unmentioned, unrelated material. We extended this finding of within-individual and socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting to well-rehearsed, emotionally intense memories that are similar for the speaker and listener, but differ in specifics. A questionnaire probed participants' memory of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Questions and responses were grouped into category-exemplar structures. Then, participants selectively rehearsed their answers (using a structured interview in Experiment 1 and a joint recounting between pairs in Experiment 2). In subsequent recognition tests, response times yielded evidence of within-individual retrieval-induced forgetting and socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting. This result indicates that conversations can alter memories of speakers and listeners in similar ways, even when the memories differ. We discuss socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting as a mechanism for the formation of collective memories.
REFERENCES
|
Anderson, M.C., Bjork, R.A., Bjork, E.L. (1994). Remembering can cause forgetting: Retrieval dynamics in long-term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20, 1063–1087. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Anderson, M.C., Levy, B.J. (2002). Inhibitory processes and the control of memory retrieval. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6, 299–305. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Anderson, M.C., Levy, B.J. (2007). Theoretical issues in inhibition: Insights from research on human memory. In Gorfein, D.S., MacLeod, C.M. (Eds.), Inhibition in cognition (pp. 81–102). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Anderson, M.C., McCulloch, K.C. (1999). Integration as a general boundary condition on retrieval-induced forgetting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 25, 608–629. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Anderson, M.C., Spellman, B.A. (1995). On the status of inhibitory mechanisms in cognition: Memory retrieval as a model case. Psychological Review, 102, 68–100. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Brown, R., Kulik, J. (1977). Flashbulb memories. Cognition, 5, 73–99. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Camp, G., Pecher, D., Schmidt, H.G. (2007). No retrieval-induced forgetting using item-specific independent cues: Evidence against a general inhibitory account. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33, 950–958. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Chan, J.C.K., McDermott, K.B., Roediger, H.L. (2006). Retrieval-induced facilitation: Initially non-tested material can benefit from prior testing of related material. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 135, 553–571. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Cole, J. (2001). Forget colonialism? Sacrifice and the art of memory in Madagascar (Ethnographic Studies in Subjectivity No. 1). Berkeley: University of California Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Coman, A., Brown, A.D., Koppel, J., Hirst, W. (in press). Towards a psychology of collective memory. International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society. Google Scholar | |
|
Conroy, R., Salamon, K. (2006). Talking about parts of a past experience: The impact of discussion style and event structure on memory for discussed and non-discussed information. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 95, 278–297. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Cuc, A., Koppel, J., Hirst, W. (2007). Silence is not golden: A case for socially shared retrieval-induced forgetting. Psychological Science, 18, 727–733. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Echterhoff, G., Hirst, W. (2006). Thinking about memories for everyday and shocking events: Do people use ease-of-retrieval cues in memory judgments? Memory & Cognition, 34, 763–775. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Garcia-Bajos, E., Migueles, M., Anderson, M.C. (2008). Script knowledge modulates retrieval-induced forgetting for eyewitness events. Manuscript submitted for publication. Google Scholar | |
|
Hicks, J.L., Starns, J.J. (2004). Retrieval-induced forgetting occurs in tests of item recognition. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 11, 125–130. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Hirst, W., Echterhoff, G. (2008). Creating shared memories in conversation: Towards a psychology of collective memory. Social Research, 75, 78–91. Google Scholar | |
|
Hirst, W., Manier, D. (2008). Towards a psychology of collective memory. Memory, 16, 183–200. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Hirst, W., Phelps, E.A., Buckner, R.L., Budson, A.E., Gabrieli, J.D.E., Johnson, M.K., et al. (in press). The long-term retention of the terrorist attack of September 11: Flashbulb memories, event memories, and the factors that influence their retention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Google Scholar | |
|
MacLeod, M.D., Macrae, C.N. (2001). Gone but not forgotten: The transient nature of retrieval-induced forgetting. Psychological Science, 12, 148–152. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Marsh, E.J. (2007). Retelling is not the same as recalling: Implications for memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 16–20. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Mehl, M.R., Pennebaker, J.W. (2003). The social dynamics of a cultural upheaval: Social interactions surrounding September 11, 2001. Psychological Science, 14, 579–585. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Migueles, M., Garcia-Bajos, E. (2007). Selective retrieval and induced forgetting in eyewitness memory. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 1157–1172. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Nelson, K., Fivush, R. (2004). The emergence of autobiographical memory: A social cultural development theory. Psychological Review, 111, 486–511. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Racsmány, M., Conway, M.A. (2006). Episodic inhibition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 32, 44–57. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Rimé, B. (2007). Interpersonal emotion regulation. In Gross, J.J. (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 466–485). New York: Guilford Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Singer, J.A., Conway, M.A. (2008). Should we forget forgetting? Memory Studies, 1, 279–285. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Spitzer, B., Bäuml, K.H. (2007). Retrieval-induced forgetting in item recognition: Evidence for a reduction in general memory strength. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33, 863–875. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Stevens, J. (1996). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences (3rd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Google Scholar | |
|
Storm, B.C., Bjork, E.L., Bjork, R.A., Nestojko, J. (2006). Is retrieval success necessary for retrieval-induced forgetting? Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 13, 1023–1027. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Tandoh, K., Naka, M. (2007). Durability of retrieval-induced forgetting. Japanese Journal of Psychology, 78, 310–315. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
|
Tulving, E., Hastie, R. (1972). Inhibition effects of intralist repetition in free recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 92, 297–304. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Watts, D.J. (2004). Six degrees: The science of a connected age. New York: Norton. Google Scholar | |
|
Wertsch, J. (2008). Collective memory and narrative templates. Social Research, 75, 133–156. Google Scholar | |
|
Wessel, I., Hauer, B. (2006). Retrieval-induced forgetting of autobiographical memory details. Cognition & Emotion, 20, 430–447. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Zerubavel, E. (2006). The elephant in the room: Silence and denial in everyday life. New York: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar | Crossref |
