The diverse nature of forgetting across a representational hierarchy

表征层次结构中遗忘的多样性

• 批准号: ES/X00791X/1
• 负责人: Aidan Horner
• 金额: $ 75.6万
• 依托单位: University of York
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FX00791X%2F1
• 关键词: diverse; nature; forgetting; across; representational

Forgetting is fundamental part of life. In an educational setting we often try to minimise forgetting by promoting long-term retention of information. Forgetting is typically assumed to be a unitary process, however research suggests that forgetting can follow distinct forgetting curves and can be caused by different mechanisms. Critically, forgetting might differ quantitatively and qualitatively dependent on the type of mental representation formed during learning. Understanding when and how specific types of information are forgotten is critical to boosting retention in an educational setting. For example, if we know when specific information is likely to be forgotten we can introduce repetition or rehearsal at the appropriate time to maximally boost retention. We have recently proposed a novel theoretical framework that makes predictions about the rate and form of forgetting at distinct levels in a representational hierarchy. Critically, this framework makes two key predictions: (1) forgetting changes qualitatively and quantitatively dependent on the representation formed at encoding, and (2) higher levels in the representational hierarchy can support the retention of representations at lower levels in the hierarchy. We will test the predictions of this framework using experimental psychology and statistical modelling. We will then use this theoretical insight to test whether we can boost retention of newly learnt information that is educationally relevant. In particular, we will test whether retention of educationally relevant information is boosted when learnt within a higher-order narrative. The potential benefit of learning in narratives will further be tested in combination with known cognitive techniques that boost retention - retrieval practice and spaced learning. The proposed research will provide fundamental insight into the psychology of forgetting and lay the theoretical groundwork for designing novel tools for boosting retention of educationally relevant material.

遗忘是生活的基本组成部分。在教育环境中，我们经常试图通过促进信息的长期保留来尽量减少遗忘。遗忘通常被认为是一个单一的过程，然而研究表明，遗忘可以遵循不同的遗忘曲线，并且可以由不同的机制引起。重要的是，遗忘可能会在数量和质量上有所不同，这取决于学习过程中形成的心理表征的类型。了解特定类型的信息何时以及如何被遗忘对于提高教育环境中的保留率至关重要。例如，如果我们知道特定信息何时可能被遗忘，我们可以在适当的时候引入重复或排练，以最大限度地提高记忆力。我们最近提出了一个新的理论框架，使遗忘的速度和形式的预测在不同的水平在一个代表性的层次。重要的是，这个框架做出了两个关键的预测：（1）遗忘在质和量上的变化取决于编码时形成的表征，（2）表征层次中的较高层次可以支持保持层次中较低层次的表征。我们将使用实验心理学和统计建模来测试这个框架的预测。然后，我们将使用这个理论的洞察力来测试我们是否可以提高新学习的信息，是教育相关的保留。特别是，我们将测试是否保留教育相关的信息时，提高了学习高阶叙事。在叙述中学习的潜在好处将结合已知的认知技术进一步测试，这些技术可以促进记忆-提取练习和间隔学习。这项研究将为遗忘心理学提供基本的见解，并为设计新的工具来提高教育相关材料的保留奠定理论基础。