ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

心理科学进展 ›› 2021, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (9): 1599-1606.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2021.01599

• 研究前沿 • 上一篇    下一篇

定向遗忘的编码加工机制

寇东晓1, 顾文涛1,2()   

  1. 1南京师范大学心理学院
    2南京师范大学文学院, 南京 210097
  • 收稿日期:2020-09-21 发布日期:2021-07-22
  • 通讯作者: 顾文涛 E-mail:wtgu@njnu.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    国家社科基金重大项目(13&ZD189);江苏高校哲学社会科学优秀创新团队建设项目(2017STD006)

Encoding mechanism in directed forgetting

KOU Dongxiao1, GU Wentao1,2()   

  1. 1School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, China
    2School of Chinese Language and Culture, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, China
  • Received:2020-09-21 Published:2021-07-22
  • Contact: GU Wentao E-mail:wtgu@njnu.edu.cn

摘要:

有目的的遗忘(定向遗忘)需要耗费认知努力吗?有研究发现, 定向遗忘可能是被动衰减的结果, 即F项目(需要遗忘的项目)未获得有效复述是选择性复述了R项目(需要记住的项目)造成的, 这一加工过程不需要认知努力; 但也有研究表明, 定向遗忘过程可能是遗忘线索诱发的对记忆加工的主动抑制, 需要耗费认知努力, 脑认知研究中发现的前额叶ERPs成分为这一机制提供了证据。还有一种观点认为, 定向遗忘编码过程可能同时包含主动抑制与被动衰减, 但是尚不清楚两种加工机制相互作用的方式。为进一步澄清定向遗忘编码阶段的认知机制, 未来研究需要将非认知因素纳入考察, 并关注不同人群的定向遗忘特征, 在此基础上尝试解决理论争议。

关键词: 定向遗忘, 编码机制, 主动抑制, 被动衰减

Abstract:

Forgetting is a cognitive process that individuals tend to avoid under many circumstances, but it does not always have negative effects. Erasing some outdated information (e.g., phone numbers a long time ago) or negative information (e.g., negative emotions) from memory will not only improve one’s efficiency of memorization, but also improve one’s mental health. In psychology, this kind of forgetting is named ‘intentional forgetting’ or ‘directed forgetting’. In a typical experimental paradigm to study directed forgetting, the participants are asked to remember or forget certain items following corresponding cues in the learning stage, and then to recall or recognize these items in the subsequent testing stage. Results of previous studies have consistently shown that the score of memorization on the to-be-forgotten items is significantly lower than on the to-be-remembered items. Regarding whether directed forgetting requires cognitive effort, however, there have been controversial views including two opposing theories, namely passive decay theory and active inhibition theory. In the view of passive decay theory, directed forgetting is not necessarily a mechanism of active inhibition of memory; instead, it is a passive process that does not require cognitive effort-the to-be-forgotten items just decay passively with time for lacking an effective rehearsal as there is a selective rehearsal of the to-be-remembered items. On the contrary, active inhibition theory maintains that directed forgetting is a process of active inhibition of memory induced by the forgetting cues and hence it requires cognitive effort-this theory has not only been supported by behavioral studies but also been evidenced by the ERPs in the frontal lobe as shown in neurocognitive studies. Although the two theories attribute directed forgetting to opposing mechanisms, they are not entirely conflicting as they have consensus on the encoding mechanism of the to-be-remembered items. In addition to these two mainstream theories, there is also a viewpoint that the encoding stage of directed forgetting may involve both active inhibition and passive decay which are two processes independent in time and space, but how the two processes interact and integrate is yet to be explored. Notably, some other studies reported that the performance of forgetting on the to-be-forgotten items was even worse than on the items without any cues(these words don't need to be remembered or forgotten), suggesting that the to-be-forgotten items have partly entered the memory, which seems to challenge both active inhibition and passive decay theories. Despite a wealth of experimental evidence, the controversy in the theory remains. To further clarify the cognitive mechanism of the encoding stage of directed forgetting, future study needs to take non-cognitive factors such as motivation and emotion into investigation, and to inspect various populations.

Key words: directed forgetting, encoding mechanism, active inhibition, passive decay

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