Biomedical subjects

G J Gargano

Publications and source records attributed to G J Gargano.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Retrieval processes that produce interference in modified forced-choice recognition tests.

Recognition can suffer if the retrieval cues activate more than one trace (e.g., for Flower A and Flower A'). We found evidence for two retrieval processes by examining interference effects in forced-choice tests (e.g., "Did you see Flower A or Flower A"?). Experiment 1 provided evidence of a problem in discriminating between temporally and contextually similar traces that were formed in the study phase. A competitor (Flower A') interfered more if it was shown in the study phase rather than in the test phase. Experiments 2 and 3 found evidence for a blocking process in recognizing pairs of words (child-apple). A competitor interfered more if it was recent, shown at test rather than at study. This pattern occurred regardless of whether the competitor was similar to the target (child-orange) or dissimilar to it (child-truck). The importance of a particular retrieval process may depend on an item's representation as well as on the retrieval cues.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

Item-specific interference caused by cue-dependent forgetting.

Memory for A-B word pairs (e.g., child-apple) was tested by a cued recall test (e.g., child-app__). Showing an A-C "relative" (e.g., child-bicycle) reduced recall, especially if it was shown recently and was highly accessible (Experiments 1 and 2). In Experiment 3, a relative facilitated recall if it was semantically similar to the target (A-B': child-cookies) but interfered if it was semantically dissimilar (A-C: child-fever). The best explanation for these results is that the relative primed features that affected the functional retrieval cue, and that interference occurred if the cue did not match the trace for the target (Martin, 1972). In other words, the interference effects are an example of cue-dependent forgetting. Neither blocking nor a discrimination process can account for these findings, although some evidence for a discrimination process has been found with other materials.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Directed forgetting and posthypnotic amnesia: information processing and social contexts.

In three experiments we compared posthypnotic amnesia (PHA) with directed forgetting (DF), evaluating subjects' hypnotic susceptibility, hypnotized or not. Experiment 1 suggested that the memory processes in PHA and DF were not the same. Low and high susceptibility subjects responded differently in the two contexts. Experiment 2 demonstrated a context effect for highly susceptible subjects: They showed the usual DF response outside hypnosis but not during hypnosis. Experiment 3 showed that high and low susceptibility subjects responded similarly to DF instructions outside hypnosis, eliminating the susceptibility as an important variable in the DF response. We concluded: (a) The interaction of context and susceptibility was the important determinant of unusual DF responses for high susceptibles, and (b) information processing concepts are too limited to explain PHA and perhaps DF. Theories that include interactions appear necessary for an accurate understanding of hypnotic phenomena and perhaps some phenomena usually focused on by cognitive psychology.

Amnesia↗