ABSTRACT Knowledge builds through direct experiences (e.g., teaching) and productive processes (e.g., analogy). There is variability in the specific productive process of self-derivation of new knowledge through integration of separate yet related episodes of new learning. The variability relates to each of four hypothesised precursor sub-processes: encoding, reactivation, integration (all three for both children and adults), and selection (tested in children only). However, relations between each sub-process and self-derivation have been investigated in separate samples. As such, how they work together to support self-derivation is unknown. In the current research, we investigated all four sub-processes in samples of 7–11-year-olds (Study 1) and college-age adults (Study 2). In the child sample and in the combined sample of children and adults, encoding, reactivation, and integration each were found to relate to self-derivation; selection was not related to self-derivation. In the children sample and in the combined sample of children and adults, cluster analyses revealed two paths to successful self-derivation, one of which was more prompt-independent and the other seemingly was dependent on prompts. There also were two paths to unsuccessful self-derivation, both characterised by low success at encoding. The results provide new insight into sources of variability in self-derivation through memory integration.

ABSTRACT Research suggests elaborative rehearsal encoding manipulations facilitate subsequent recall of to-be-learned information. Though there have been several proposed mechanisms to understand this effect, we wanted to explore whether elaborative rehearsal may additionally be understood to improve memory via a reduction in mind wandering during learning. In a pre-registered experiment, we had participants learn a list of sentences in which a person was tied to an arbitrary action. In the control condition, a plausible explanation was provided to link person and action while in the elaborative rehearsal condition, participants were tasked with generating their own explanation. During this list presentation, participants were presented with several probes to gauge whether their attention was on task or if instead their mind had wandered to off-task thoughts. Later, participants were given a cued-recall test in which they were asked to recall which person was associated with each action. Results revealed that participants in the elaborative rehearsal condition recalled more of the sentences and self-reported less mind wandering. However, contrary to predictions, the reductions in mind wandering did not mediate cued recall performance. We argue that these data suggest elaborative rehearsal improves memory primarily because of what it adds (rich, idiosyncratic retrieval paths) as opposed to what it suppresses.

ABSTRACT Two psychosocial work models, job demand-control (JDC) and effort-reward imbalance (ERI), have been studied in relation to health and cognition, but to a limited extent with subjective memory. This study aimed to evaluate longitudinal associations of JDC and ERI with changes in subjective memory among United States (U.S.) workers from the population-based Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. Among 1,538 U.S. workers, generalised estimating equations analyzed associations of independent and joint JDC and ERI categorizations at baseline (2004-2006) with changes in subjective memory composite scores from baseline to follow-up (2013-2014). Multivariable modelling accounted for demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, health, and psychosocial work factors. In the fully adjusted models, high job control (regression coefficient: 0.151 [95% CI 0.038, 0.264], p = 0.0088), “high demand and high control” (0.164 [0.015, 0.312], p = 0.0313), high reward (0.289 [0.174, 0.405], p < .0001), “low effort and high reward” (0.288 [0.130, 0.446], p = 0.0004), and “high effort and high reward” (0.288 [0.128, 0.448], p = 0.0004) were associated with increased subjective memory. Work-related control and reward were positively associated with subjective memory changes across nine years among a U.S. worker cohort. Future research may support workplace environment improvements to promote cognitive health.

ABSTRACT Prospective memory is the ability to remember to perform a planned activity in a future situation. Because of the strong sociability of older adults, their prospective memory performance is easily affected by prosocial motivation. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of prosocial motivation on prospective memory and its components in older adults. Specifically, we recruited 101 older adults (aged 60–75 years) and 115 younger adults (aged 18–25 years) to participate in this experiment. We used a 2 (group) × 2 (age) × 2 (attention load) between-subjects design. Prosocial motivation was induced by instruction. The results showed that, compared with the control group, the accuracy of prospective memory and ongoing task in the prosocial motivation group was higher under different attention load and age conditions. Concurrently, the response speeds of the prospective memory and the ongoing tasks were slower. The results from the beta-MPT model analysis showed that under the condition of low attention load, the prospective component of the prosocial motivation group was higher than that of the control group. The results showed that prosocial motivation could promote prospective memory performance of both older adults and younger adults, an outcome unaffected by attention load. Prosocial motivation mainly ensures the monitoring and confirmation of prospective memory cues in high attention load condition by slowing down the response speed of both younger and older adults, thus improving prospective memory performance. The registration number is ChiCTR2500105119.

ABSTRACT Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) refers to the finding that selective retrieval practice of a subset of studied items can impair recall of related unpracticed items, relative to recall of unrelated control items. Using categorized study material, we examined in two experiments how the retention interval between retrieval practice and test (1 min, 4 h, 24 h, or 7 d) influences the size of this RIF effect. Across both experiments, the RIF effect was robust at shorter retention intervals (1 min, 4 h) but disappeared at longer intervals (24 h, 7 d). Unlike prior work, we also fitted power functions of time to the recall rates of unpracticed and control items to examine forgetting rates of the two types of items. Analysis of the function's parameters showed that while unpracticed items were initially impaired, they were forgotten more slowly over time than control items, making RIF disappear at longer retention intervals. Results are discussed with respect to prominent accounts of RIF.

ABSTRACT Schacter (1999, 2001) has provided a taxonomy for studying memory distortions that suggests there are seven “sins” of memory: misattribution, persistence, suggestibility, bias, absent-mindedness, blocking, and transience. Although there has been a great deal of evidence that these memory distortions occur among individuals, few studies have examined the effects of discussion on false memories. In the present study, we presented seven memory tasks, each designed to elicit a different memory sin, to participants who either encoded the information individually or engaged in discussion within groups of 2 or 3 while retrieving the information. We found widespread evidence of all seven memory sins, whether participants engaged in discussion during retrieval or not. Group discussion increased actual memory for information. Regarding memory sins, group discussion increased misattribution and persistence, and decreased transience. Discussion had no significant effect on suggestibility, bias, absent-mindedness, or blocking. We discuss implications for situations where people attempt to retrieve memories while discussing them.

ABSTRACT This study explores the factors influencing the perceived significance of public events among middle-aged adults in Turkey, focusing on the role of political identity. A representative sample of participants from various regions of Turkey (329 females, Mage = 47.26, SD = 1.82; 330 males, Mage = 47.37, SD = 1.83) assessed various characteristics of public events. The results showed that personal significance, relevance to national identity, political significance, and unexpectedness were the strongest predictors of event significance, while emotional impact and consequentiality did not significantly predict perceived significance. Political identity also influenced perceptions, with supporters of the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party) and opposition CHP (the Republican People’s Party) showing different priorities in event significance. Additionally, higher SES was linked to greater perceived significance of events, while higher education was associated with lower significance ratings. These results highlight the complex interplay between political identity, demographic factors, and event characteristics in shaping public event perception.

ABSTRACT The present study examined conditions under which negative autobiographical memories are narrated with redemptive themes, a normative narrative structure in the U.S., in which a negative or emotionally difficult life experience is described as having a positive conclusion. U.S. college student participants were asked to provide a written essay of a negative autobiographical experience. They were randomly assigned to experimental conditions that varied in memory-sharing context (highly evaluative versus less evaluative) and exposure to normative narrative modelling (redemptive sample essays versus nonredemptive sample essays). Results indicated that evaluative social context and redemptive narration exposure each increased participants’ use of redemptive narration when recalling negative autobiographical memories. Use of redemption, in turn, led to more positive evaluations of the essays by independent raters, highlighting the social efficacy of using culturally normative narrative structures in interpersonal contexts.

ABSTRACT The noncriterial recollection hypothesis (Brewer, G. A., Marsh, R. L., Clark-Foos, A., & Meeks, J. T. (2010). Noncriterial recollection influences metacognitive monitoring and control processes. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63(10), 1936–1942. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470210903551638) posits that feeling-of-knowing judgments (FOKs) are influenced by the retrieval of learned contextual information, but the effects of emotional contexts remain unexplored. We examined how the amount and emotional content of contextual information affect FOKs. Participants studied face-name pairs presented alone (no-information), with a description of a disgusting/neutral behaviour (medium-information), or with both the person’s profession and the disgusting/neutral behaviour (maximum-information). We assessed cued recall, FOKs, and recognition accuracy for the face-name pairs. We hypothesised that additional contextual information would increase FOK magnitude, with a more pronounced effect for emotional content. The results revealed a dissociation between memory and metamemory, indicating a metacognitive illusion. Medium and maximum information conditions increased FOKs but reduced recall and recognition rates relative to the no-information condition. We observed no direct effect of emotion; FOK magnitude did not differ between negative and neutral conditions across information levels. However, correctly identifying which faces were associated with disgusting behaviours contributed more to FOKs than identifying which faces were associated with neutral behaviours. Overall, this study supported the noncriterial recollection hypothesis and extends research on emotion and metamemory. Moreover, we show a memory-metamemory dissociation with stimuli relevant in everyday life.

ABSTRACT Encoding lists of categorised words produces robust false memory for non-presented exemplars but few false memories for category labels. The present research examined the conditions under which categorical false memories can be elicited by variations in list composition in which a subset of category labels was presented for half of the lists. In Experiment 1, participants encoded lists of exemplars with or without the presence of category labels under full or divided attention conditions. Presentation of a subset of category labels produced false memories for non-presented labels and dividing attention reduced this effect. In Experiment 2, participants encoded lists as in Experiment 1 and prior to retrieval, were (or were not), given warnings about the nature of false memory effects and to avoid false memory errors. Categorical false memories arose when a subset of labels was encoded and warnings did not significantly reduce their magnitude, testifying to the robustness of this effect. Explanations are considered from the perspective of activation monitoring, fuzzy trace theory and how encoding and subsequent monitoring interact.