ERIC Number: EJ945345
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Sep
Pages: 7
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
Thinking Can Cause Forgetting: Memory Dynamics in Creative Problem Solving
Storm, Benjamin C.; Angello, Genna; Bjork, Elizabeth Ligon
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v37 n5 p1287-1293 Sep 2011
Research on retrieval-induced forgetting has shown that retrieval can cause the forgetting of related or competing items in memory (Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994). In the present research, we examined whether an analogous phenomenon occurs in the context of creative problem solving. Using the Remote Associates Test (RAT; Mednick, 1962), we found that attempting to generate a novel common associate to 3 cue words caused the forgetting of other strong associates related to those cue words. This problem-solving-induced forgetting effect occurred even when participants failed to generate a viable solution, increased in magnitude when participants spent additional time problem solving, and was positively correlated with problem-solving success on a separate set of RAT problems. These results implicate a role for forgetting in overcoming fixation in creative problem solving. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Animals, Stimuli, Problem Solving, Memory, Short Term Memory, Cues, Inhibition, Experiments, Individual Differences, Undergraduate Students, Higher Education, Recall (Psychology), Introductory Courses, Psychology, Educational Psychology, Correlation
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California; Illinois
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Remote Associates Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A