Lecture 5 - Motivated Forgetting

Question 1

Define positivity bias

Answer 1

Tendency to recall more pleasant memories than either neutral or unpleasant ones

Question 2

Describe how positivity bias has been shown in ageing

Answer 2

3 groups of adults had to look at positive pictures & more neutral pictures, they then had to recall the photos they had seen, older adults recalled 2x as many positive as negative images

Question 3

Describe Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST) in terms of positivity bias in ageing

Answer 3

• We have less time to live so we focus more on positive things
• Older: focus shifts from future-orientated goals to maintaining sense of well-being
• Older: more skilled in emotion regulation
• Older: reflects top-down motivational mechanisms

Question 4

Describe Cognitive Decline for positivity bias

Answer 4

Positive information less cognitively demanding than negative information (as older people have lower cognitive ability)

Question 5

Describe ageing brain model for positivity bias

Answer 5

Age-related impairments in amygdala (processes negative emotions) function lead to reduced neural and affective responses to negative stimli

Question 6

Describe Fleming’s (2003) results for the ageing brain model

Answer 6

• YA & OA recalled more words than AD patients
• AD recalled more negative than positive or neutral words
• YA & OA similar recall of positive and negative

Question 7

Describe the results of Leclerc & Kensigner’s (2011) fMRI study

Answer 7

In the PFC:
- YA: greater activation for positive pictures
- OA: greater activation for negative pictures
In the amygdala:
- YA: greater activation for negative pictures
- OA: greater activation for positive pictures

Question 8

Describe repression as per Freud

Answer 8

• A psychological mechanism aimed at rejecting and keeping something out of consciousness
• Repressed material still influences behaviours, dreams and emotional reactions
• Sometime the repressed concepts pop up again later

Question 9

What are the differences between repression and suppression

Answer 9

Repression: an unconscious process, automatic
Suppression: a conscious process, intentional goal-directed

Question 10

What are the 3 kinds of forgetting?

Answer 10

Intentional forgetting
Psychogenic amnesia
Other forgetting

Question 11

Define intentional forgetting

Answer 11

Conscious goal to forgetting
Conscious repression
Intentional context shifts

Question 12

Define psychogenic amnesia

Answer 12

Profound forgetting of the events of one’s life, not due to neurological damage or dysfunction

Question 13

Define other forgetting

Answer 13

Not accidental but also not conscious

Question 14

What are the 2 methods of directed forgetting?

Answer 14

1. Item-method directed forgetting

2. List-method directed forgetting

Question 15

Describe the item-method

Answer 15

Study phase - sees a list of words

Test phase - name all of the words on the list

Question 16

Successful intentional forgetting results in what?

Answer 16

Increased PFC activity

Decreased hippocampus activity

Question 17

Describe Mnemic Neglect Effect (Sedikides & Green, 2000)

Answer 17

• P’s completed a mock personality questionnaire
• Computer program provided list of 32 behaviours
• ‘Self’ condition - behaviours relate to themselves
• ‘Chris’ condition - behaviours relate to someone else
• P’s do not remember as many negative behaviours about themselves as they do about ‘chris’

Question 18

Describe retrieval inhibition hypothesis

Answer 18

• Forget instructions inhibit List 1 items
• Reduces the activation of unwanted memories (remain available)
• Re-presenting forgotten items restores their activation levels (explains why items can be recognised but not recalled)

Question 19

Describe context shift hypothesis

Answer 19

• Forget instructions separate List 1 from List 2 items
• Mental context shifts between the lists
• List 2 context lingers into the final test
• New context is a poor retrieval cue for List 1 items
• May involve inhibition of the unwanted context

Question 20

Describe intentional retrieval suppression

Answer 20

• Stopping retrieval of an unwanted memory

- Engage cognitive mechanisms similar to stopping a motor action

Question 21

Describe retrieval suppression in terms of the neural basis (Anderson et al., 2004)

Answer 21

• Increased activity in the PFC and anterior cingulate cortex
• Decreased activity in the hippocampus

Question 22

How is thought substitution different to suppression?

Answer 22

Thought substitution involves redirecting retrieval of an unpleasant memory compared to suppression which involves stopping retrieval

Question 23

What are the motives or motivated forgetting?

Answer 23

• Regulating negative affect
• Justifying inappropriate behaviour
• Maintaining beliefs & attitudes
• Deceiving others & oneself
• Preserving self image
• Forgiving others
• Maintaining attachment

Question 24

Describe regulating negative affect

Answer 24

Memories that evoke fear, anger, sadness, guilt, shame trigger people to regulate emotions

Question 25

Describe justifying inappropriate behaviour

Answer 25

Dissonance creates discomfort that is reduced via motivated forgetting

Question 26

Describe maintaining beliefs & attitudes

Answer 26

Selectively forget information not in line with our beliefs

Question 27

Describe deceiving others & oneself

Answer 27

Use retrieval suppression to disguise guilty knowledge of a crime

Question 28

Describe preserving self image

Answer 28

Selectively remembering feedback consistent with positive traits

Question 29

Describe forgiving others

Answer 29

Individual differences in forgiveness predicted by inhibitory control

Question 30

Describe maintaining attachment

Answer 30

Selective memory of experiences compatible with attachment, survive and thrive in an environment