Recall of interrupted tasks under stress: A phenomenon of memory or of learning?

Abstract
The study proposed to answer three questions: "1. Is superior recall of successes in an intelligence test situation (S-recall) a function of selective forgetting (repression) of failures or selective learning in favor of successes? 2. Is superior recall of failures in this situation (F-recall) a function of selective remembering or selective learning in favor of failures? 3. Is there a mnemonic reaction to the test as a whole?" Findings indicate that: "1. Both the S- and F-recall tendencies were due to a selective learning rather than a selective remembering mechanism. 2. A repression was demonstrated for S-recallers with regard to the stress situation as a whole. 3. A comparable process of enhanced retention of the total stress situation was not demonstrated for F-recallers; rather the effect here was due to enhanced registration." Implications of results are discussed. It is suggested that "experimental tests of repression...fulfill a criterion of cognitive relevance of test materials." 23 references.

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