Memory blocks in word fragment completion caused by involuntary retrieval of orthographically related primes Academic Article

abstract

• Seven experiments showed that word fragments are not solved as well following prior exposure to orthographically similar primes (e.g., ANALOGY as a prime for A_L__GY) relative to orthographically dissimilar primes (e.g., UNICORN). This blocking effect was influenced by the modality (auditory vs. visual) of the primes but not by the depth to which they were processed. This blocking effect occurred even when participants were informed about it and told to try to avoid remembering the primes, and it was not affected by the proportion of test fragments for which the orthographic primes were correct versus incorrect answers. The results have implications for theories concerned with unconscious mechanisms that underlie memory blocking and blocks to creative problem solving.

authors

• Smith, Steven

published proceedings

• JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-LEARNING MEMORY AND COGNITION

author list (cited authors)

• Smith, S. M., & Tindell, D. R.

citation count

• 61

complete list of authors

• Smith, SM||Tindell, DR

publication date

• January 1997

publisher

• American Psychological Association (APA)  Publisher

published in

• Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition  Journal

keywords

• 52 Psychology
• 5202 Biological Psychology
• 5204 Cognitive And Computational Psychology
• Neurosciences

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1037/0278-7393.23.2.355

start page

• 355

end page

• 370

volume

• 23

issue

• 2

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.23.2.355