title: Thinking can cause forgetting: memory dynamics in creative problem solving.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 West Harrison Street (MC 285), Chicago, IL 60607-7137, USA. bstorm@uic.edu
authors.forename: Benjamin C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Storm
authors.forename: Genna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Angello
authors.forename: Elizabeth Ligon
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Bjork
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*; D014825:Vocabulary; D055815:Young Adult