Buildup Of Proactive Interference Research Articles

Patterns of proactive interference in CVLT-II: evidence of a low-organized, disorganized, and highly organized learning style

ABSTRACT Objective Previous studies have interpreted proactive interference (PI) either as indicating executive dysfunction or a normal process indicating deep level encoding. We investigated these competing models of PI in a large clinical sample using cluster analyses. We expected to find clusters defined by high PI but otherwise characterized by either EF impairment or of good memory performance. Method File records of 731 patients with neurological or psychiatric disorders were analyzed. PI-scores, false positive recognition errors, and semantic organization scores on the California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) were subjected to cluster analyses. Clusters were compared regarding buildup and release from PI, memory performance and strategy measures, measures of intelligence, EF, and processing speed. Results The analyses revealed six analyzable clusters. Two clusters showed no buildup of PI and normal release from PI. Discriminability was impaired both in List A and B. Learning acquisition and speeded measures of EF were reduced. One cluster showed both buildup of PI and problems with releasing from PI, and particularly impaired discriminability of List B. Semantic organization was low. Learning consolidation and EF speeded measures were impaired. Two other clusters showed buildup of PI, but no problem with release. Learning was highly organized, and they showed good memory and normal neuropsychological performance. Conclusions Results shows differentiation between a low organized EF dysfunction pattern with no PI, a disorganized PI pattern also indicating EF dysfunction and a highly organized pattern where PI seems to be the price to pay for high effort put into the learning process.

Effects of Color on the Buildup and Resolution of Proactive Interference in Working Memory

The “color superiority effect” was confirmed by the research of color on forgetting, which showed that proactive interference (PI) has less impact on colored items than gray ones. Color could directly affect the buildup of PI, leading to reduced levels of interference, or controlled processes that resolve PI. However, the effects of red and green on memory were inconsistent. Using Recent-Probes task, the current study explored how the red and green color influenced to the buildup phase (i.e., 200ms after the onset of probe) and resolution phase (i.e. 800ms after the onset of probe) of PI. Results revealed that the reaction times of green words were significantly shorter than the red words under 200ms. There were no significant differences between the red and green words under 500ms and 800ms. It indicated that green might shortened the reaction times for the PI buildup, while red prolonged it. However, on the resolution phase of PI, green words were less effective than red words. These findings offered some new information for the underlying mechanisms that modulate the interactions between color and memory.

Corrigendum to “Accounting for the build-up of proactive interference across lists in a list length paradigm reveals a dominance of item-noise in recognition memory” [J. Memory Lang. 110 (2019) 104065

Corrigendum to “Accounting for the build-up of proactive interference across lists in a list length paradigm reveals a dominance of item-noise in recognition memory” [J. Memory Lang. 110 (2019) 104065

Not all checking decreases memory confidence: Implications for obsessive-compulsive disorder

Background and objectivesRepetitive checking, a frequently reported compulsive behavior associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), may, at least in part, result from a lack of memory confidence. Surprisingly, numerous studies have shown that when participants repeatedly perform an action and check that they performed it correctly, memory confidence decreases across repetitions, suggesting that repeated checking produces memory distrust. It is not clear, however, whether the checking component of each trial is critical for the decrease in confidence to occur. Five experiments tested whether the checking component is either necessary or sufficient to produce memory distrust. MethodsParticipants repeatedly turned on and off virtual stove burners, with some conditions checking that the burners were off on each trial. Memory for the specific burners turned on and off was tested on the first and last trials, along with memory confidence. ResultsConfidence decreased across trials even when the checking component was eliminated. However, increasing the number of times each person checked on each trial did not decrease confidence. LimitationsA sample of individuals formally diagnosed with OCD was not tested. Also, our results only speak to massed (within-trial) checking, not spaced checking occurring over longer time intervals. ConclusionsWhereas we consistently replicated the increase in memory distrust across repeated trials that is typically found with the stove-checking task, the checking component of each trial is neither necessary nor sufficient for the accrual of memory distrust. The build-up of proactive interference across repeated trials may cause the memory distrust.

Learning how to exploit sources of information.

How is our strategy for forming memories shaped by experience with a task? Previous work using surprise questions (i.e., unexpected by the participant) has shown a remarkable inability to report attributes of an attended target in a search display. This representational poverty presumably reflects a form of information exploitation, in which control processes specialize the conversion of available information into memory representations. We hypothesize that such control is refined by repeated experience with a task, and as a result, memory representations will specialize as task experience accrues, such that report accuracy for an unexpected question will progressively worsen as the number of preceding trials increases. To test this, subjects were asked to report the location of a letter among three digits. The ability to respond correctly to a surprise question about the identity of that letter became worse as the experiment progressed. A follow-up study evaluated whether this incremental worsening of report accuracy could be explained as a buildup of proactive interference by varying the set of letters for the surprise test. The results were unchanged relative to the original experiment, which argues against a primary contribution of proactive interference in the worsening performance. The effect was replicated in a similar paradigm using color disks. These findings illustrate that repeated performance of a prescriptive task engages an adaptive modification of control processes that focus information processing on specific attributes of a stimulus that are expected to be necessary in the future, regardless of their immediate task relevance.

Desirable Difficulties in Spatial Learning: Testing Enhances Subsequent Learning of Spatial Information.

Previous work has shown that testing can enhance learning and retention of subsequently studied new information. The present study investigated this forward testing effect in spatial memory. In two experiments, participants studied four successively presented 3 × 3 arrays, each composed of the same nine objects. They were asked to memorize the locations of the objects which differed across the four arrays. Following presentation of Arrays 1–3, memory for the object locations of the respective array was tested (testing condition), or the array was re-presented for additional study (restudy condition). Thereafter, Array 4 was presented and tested in both the testing and the restudy condition. In Experiment 1, testing was self-paced, whereas in Experiment 2, testing time was controlled by the experimenter. Consistent across the two experiments, testing was found to enhance location memory for Array 4, relative to restudying. Furthermore, testing also reduced the number of confusion errors (i.e., the tendency to misplace objects to locations on which they had appeared previously) made during recall of Array 4, suggesting that testing reduced the interference potential of prior information. The results indicate that testing can enhance subsequent learning of spatial information by reducing the build-up of proactive interference from previously studied information.

Individual differences in working memory capacity and search efficiency.

In two experiments, we examined how various learning conditions impact the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and memory search abilities. Experiment 1 employed a delayed free recall task with semantically related words to induce the buildup of proactive interference (PI) and revealed that the buildup of PI differentially impacted recall accuracy and recall latency for low-WMC and high-WMC individuals. Namely, the buildup of PI impaired recall accuracy and slowed recall latency for low-WMC individuals to a greater extent than what was observed for high-WMC individuals. To provide a circumstance in which previously learned information remains relevant over the course of learning, Experiment 2 required participants to complete a multitrial delayed free recall task with unrelated words. Results revealed that with increased practice with the same word list, WMC-related differences were eventually eliminated in interresponse times (IRTs) and recall accuracy, but not recall latency. Thus, despite still accumulating larger search sets, low-WMC individuals searched LTM as efficiently as high-WMC individuals. Collectively, these results are consistent with the notion that under normal free recall conditions, low-WMC individuals search LTM less efficiently than do high-WMC individuals because of their reliance on noisy temporal-contextual cues at retrieval. However, it appears that under conditions in which previously learned items remain relevant at recall, this tendency to rely on vague self-generated retrieval cues can actually facilitate the ability to accurately and quickly recall information.

Forgetting emotional material in working memory.

Proactive interference (PI) is the tendency for information learned earlier to interfere with more recently learned information. In the present study, we induced PI by presenting items from the same category over several trials. This results in a build-up of PI and reduces the discriminability of the items in each subsequent trial. We introduced emotional (e.g. disgust) and neutral (e.g. furniture) categories and examined how increasing levels of PI affected performance for both stimulus types. Participants were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) performing a 5-item probe recognition task. We modeled responses and corresponding response times with a hierarchical diffusion model. Results showed that PI effects on latent processes (i.e. reduced drift rate) were similar for both stimulus types, but the effect of PI on drift rate was less pronounced PI for emotional compared to neutral stimuli. The decline in the drift rate was accompanied by an increase in neural activation in parahippocampal regions and this relationship was more strongly observed for neutral stimuli compared to emotional stimuli.

Blocked vs. interleaved presentation and proactive interference in episodic memory

ABSTRACTAlthough a number of theoretical accounts of proactive interference (PI) in episodic memory have been proposed, existing empirical evidence does not support conclusively a single view yet. In two experiments we tested the predictions of the temporal discrimination theory of PI against alternative accounts by manipulating the presentation schedule of study materials (lists blocked by category vs. interleaved). In line with the temporal discrimination theory, we observed a clear buildup of (and release from) PI in the blocked condition, in which all the lists of the same category were presented sequentially. In the interleaved condition, with alternating lists of different categories, a more gradual and smoother buildup of PI was observed. When participants were left free to choose their presentation schedule, they spontaneously adopted an interleaved schedule, resulting again in more gradual PI. After longer delays, we observed recency effects at the list level in overall recall and, in the blocked condition, PI-related effects. The overall pattern of findings agrees with the predictions of the temporal discrimination theory of PI, complemented with categorical processing of list items, but not with alternative accounts, shedding light on the dynamics and underpinnings of PI under diverse presentation schedules and over different time scales.

Event-Based Prospective Memory Is Resistant but Not Immune to Proactive Interference.

Recent evidence suggests that proactive interference (PI) does not hurt event-based prospective memory (ProM) the way it does retrospective memory (RetroM) (Oates, Peynircioglu, & Bates, 2015). We investigated this apparent resistance further. Introduction of a distractor task to ensure we were testing ProM rather than vigilance in Experiment 1 and tripling the number of lists to provide more opportunity for PI buildup in Experiment 2 still did not produce performance decrements. However, when the ProM task was combined with a RetroM task in Experiment 3, a comparable buildup and release was observed also in the ProM task. It appears that event based ProM is indeed somewhat resistant to PI, but this resistance can break down when the ProM task comprises the same stimuli as in an embedded RetroM task. We discuss the results using the ideas of cue overload and distinctiveness as well as shared attentional and working memory resources.

Is Event-Based Prospective Memory Resistant to Proactive Interference?

Proactive interference builds up rapidly in recall with the presentation of successive lists comprising items from a single category (e.g., animals). In two experiments, we used a similar build-up paradigm in prospective memory. Interestingly, in Experiment 1, there was no evidence of proactive interference in prospective memory, although build-up emerged in a similar recall task. In Experiment 2, by also showing proactive interference build-up in a recognition task analogous to our prospective memory task, we ruled out the possibility that it was the recognition processes inherent in the prospective memory task that might make the task easier and prevent proactive interference. We suggest that, under normal conditions, prospective memory is resistant to build-up of proactive interference and propose that this resistance is a function of the strengthening afforded by a cue-to-intention association that is a part of prospective memory tasks. We discuss the finding using the classical paired-associate learning framework.

The contribution of encoding and retrieval processes to proactive interference.

Proactive interference (PI) refers to the finding that memory for recently studied (target) material can be impaired by the prior study of other (nontarget) material. Previous accounts of PI differed in whether they attributed PI to impaired retrieval or impaired encoding. Here, we suggest an integrated encoding-retrieval account, which assigns a role for each of the 2 types of processes in buildup of PI. Employing a typical PI task, we examined (a) the role of encoding processes in PI by recording scalp EEG during study of nontarget and target lists, and (b) the role of retrieval processes in PI by measuring recall totals and response latencies in target list recall. In addition, we measured subjects' working memory capacity (WMC). Behaviorally, the PI effect arose in both recall totals and response latencies, indicating PI at the sampling and the recovery stage of recall. Neurally, we found an increase in electrophysiological activities in the theta frequency band (5-8 Hz) from nontarget to target list encoding, indicating an increase in memory load during target list encoding. The results demonstrate that impaired retrieval and impaired encoding can contribute to PI. They also show that WMC affects PI. For both encoding and retrieval processes, PI was reduced in high-WMC subjects, suggesting that these subjects are able to separate target from nontarget information and create stronger focus on the target material.

Supplemental Material for The Role of Test Expectancy in the Build-Up of Proactive Interference in Long-Term Memory

Supplemental Material for The Role of Test Expectancy in the Build-Up of Proactive Interference in Long-Term Memory

The role of test expectancy in the build-up of proactive interference in long-term memory.

We examined the hypothesis that interpolated testing in a multiple list paradigm protects against proactive interference by sustaining test expectancy during encoding. In both experiments, recall on the last of 5 word lists was compared between 4 conditions: a tested group who had taken tests on all previous lists, an untested group who had not taken any tests on previous lists, and 2 other groups (one tested and the other untested) who were warned about the upcoming test prior to study of the fifth list. In both experiments, the untested/warned group performed significantly better than the untested/unwarned group on both correct recall and prior list intrusions but did not achieve the same recall accuracy as tested groups. In Experiment 2, an instruction manipulation check further narrowed the gap between the untested/warned group and the tested groups. In addition, we verified that a reduction in test expectancy indeed occurred in the untested group compared with the tested group by asking participants to indicate how likely they believed they were to receive a test on each studied list. These findings suggest that testing protects against proactive interference largely via attentional processes and/or more effective encoding.

Barriers to Repeated Assessment of Verbal Learning and Memory: A Comparison of International Shopping List Task and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test on Build-Up of Proactive Interference

Proactive interference (PI) that remains unidentified can confound the assessment of verbal learning, particularly when its effects vary from one population to another. The International Shopping List Task (ISLT) is a new measure that provides multiple forms that can be equated for linguistic factors across cultural groups. The aim of this study was to examine the build-up of PI on two measures of verbal learning-a traditional test of list learning (Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, RAVLT) and the ISLT. The sample consisted of 61 healthy adults aged 18-40. Each test had three parallel forms, each recalled three times. Results showed that repeated administration of the ISLT did not result in significant PI effects, unlike the RAVLT. Although these PI effects, observed during short retest intervals, may not be as robust under normal clinical administrations of the tests, the results suggest that the choice of the verbal learning test should be guided by the knowledge of PI effects and the susceptibility of particular patient groups to this effect.

Testing improves true recall and protects against the build-up of proactive interference without increasing false recall

Retrieval practice has been shown to protect against the negative effects of previously learned information on the learning of subsequent information, while increasing retention of new information. We report three experiments investigating the impact of retrieval practice on false recall in a multiple list paradigm. In three different experimental designs participants studied blocks of interrelated words that converged on non-presented associates. Participants were tested either after every study block or only after the fifth study block, and both groups received a cumulative test on all five study blocks. Overall the results from all three different experimental designs point to a benefit of testing in increasing long-term veridical recall on the cumulative test. More importantly, this improvement in veridical recall did not come at a cost: False recall on the cumulative test did not increase from retrieval practice.

Time causes forgetting from working memory

Although forgetting in the short term is a ubiquitous phenomenon, its exact causes remain undecided. The aim of the present study was to test the temporal decay hypothesis according to which memory traces fade away with time when attention is diverted by concurrent activities. In two experiments involving complex span tasks, adults were asked to remember series of items (either letters or spatial locations) while verifying multiplications. The duration of processing was manipulated by presenting multiplications either in word (three × four = twelve) or digit (3 × 4 = 12) format, the former taking longer to solve, while the time available to restore memory traces after each operation was kept constant across conditions. In line with the temporal decay hypothesis, the longer solution times elicited by solving word multiplications resulted in poorer recall performance. The fact that longer processing times had a comparable effect on both verbal and visuospatial memory and that the difference between conditions remained stable from the first to the last trials makes it difficult to account for these findings by assuming that forgetting is exclusively due to representation-based interference or buildup of proactive interference.

Proactive interference and practice effects in visuospatial working memory span task performance

In the current study the influence of proactive interference (PI) and practice on recall from a visuospatial working memory (WM) task was examined. Participants completed a visuospatial WM span task under either high-PI conditions (a traditional span task) or low-PI conditions (a span task with breaks between trials). Trials of each length (i.e., two to five to-be-remembered items) were equally distributed across three blocks in order to examine practice effects. Recall increased across blocks to a greater extent in the low-PI condition than in the high-PI condition, indicating that reducing PI increased recall from WM. Additionally, in the final block the correlation between fluid intelligence and WM recall was stronger for the high-PI condition than the low-PI condition, indicating that practice reduced the strength of the correlation between span task recall and fluid intelligence, but only in the low-PI condition. These results support current theories that propose that one source of variability in recall from WM span task is the build-up of PI, and that PI build-up is an important contributing factor to the relation between visuospatial WM span task recall and higher-level cognition.

Experimental Support for Conceptual Metaphors with an Episodic Memory Task

The psychological reality of conceptual metaphor theory was tested with a standard episodic memory task unused in the metaphor literature. Presentation of items from the same conceptual structure over n trials leads to a buildup of proactive interference that is released (leading to increased recall) on trial n+1 if a new conceptual structure is engaged. This pattern was seen when the conceptual structures were putative conceptual metaphors and cannot be attributed merely to the recall of words from different semantic categories. A group of participants given explicit instructions about the nature of the conceptual metaphoric relation of the items presented on the first n trials initially produced poorer recall than when instructions were not provided. These data provide support for the effortless activation of conceptual metaphor and an indication that conscious consideration of the conceptual underpinnings disrupts the use of that information.

Interference, aging, and visuospatial working memory: The role of similarity.

Older adults' performance on working memory (WM) span tasks is known to be negatively affected by the buildup of proactive interference (PI) across trials. PI has been reduced in verbal tasks and performance increased by presenting distinctive items across trials. In addition, reversing the order of trial presentation (i.e., starting with the longest sets first) has been shown to reduce PI in both verbal and visuospatial WM span tasks. We considered whether making each trial visually distinct would improve older adults' visuospatial WM performance, and whether combining the 2 PI-reducing manipulations, distinct trials and reversed order of presentation, would prove additive, thus providing even greater benefit. Forty-eight healthy older adults (age range = 60-77 years) completed 1 of 3 versions of a computerized Corsi block test. For 2 versions of the task, trials were either all visually similar or all visually distinct, and were presented in the standard ascending format (shortest set size first). In the third version, visually distinct trials were presented in a reverse order of presentation (longest set size first). Span scores were reliably higher in the ascending version for visually distinct compared with visually similar trials, F(1, 30) = 4.96, p = .03, η² = .14. However, combining distinct trials and a descending format proved no more beneficial than administering the descending format alone. Our findings suggest that a more accurate measurement of the visuospatial WM span scores of older adults (and possibly neuropsychological patients) might be obtained by reducing within-test interference.