Mnemic neglect
Encyclopedia
Mnemic neglect is a term used in social psychology
to describe a pattern of selective forgetting
, in which people tend to be poorer at recalling information that is negative with their self-concept
, while being unimpaired at recalling
information that is positive with their self-concept.
It is proposed that MN arises as a result of a number of underlying motive
s, such as self-enhancement
- the pattern of forgetting associated with MN only relates to information about the individual self. Empirical studies have demonstrated that when participants are asked to recall items of positive and negative information from a list, MN only occurred if the information was directed at the individual – recall for positive and negative items was unaffected if it was about another person. Self-esteem
has also been implicated in MN, since a bias towards recall for positive information about the self was observed to be associated with higher self-liking.
Basic tenets of the Mnemic Neglect Model:
, and it is theorised that the bias towards forgetting negative/inconsistent feedback is apparent at a number of stages in the memory process.
It may arise at the encoding stage due to a bias in which positive/consistent information is more likely to be attended to, and negative/consistent information is selectively avoided, thus is less likely to be encoded. See also: Selective attention.
MN could also be evident at the retrieval
stage, in which positive/consistent information is more readily available than negative/inconsistent information, thus facilitating or impairing recall respectively. Numerous studies demonstrate that desirable memories are more frequently recalled than undesirable ones.
The retention
stage has also been implicated, as it is shown that the affect
associated with negative memories diminishes quicker (thus retained for less time) than that of positive memories (See: Fading Affect Bias. This suggests a bias towards remembering positive information, which could also extend to memories pertaining to the self when considering MN.
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
to describe a pattern of selective forgetting
Forgetting
Forgetting refers to apparent loss of information already encoded and stored in an individual's long term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old memories are unable to be recalled from memory storage. It is subject to delicately balanced optimization that ensures that...
, in which people tend to be poorer at recalling information that is negative with their self-concept
Self-concept
Self-concept is a multi-dimensional construct that refers to an individual's perception of "self" in relation to any number of characteristics, such as academics , gender roles and sexuality, racial identity, and many others. Each of these characteristics is a research domain Self-concept (also...
, while being unimpaired at recalling
Recall (memory)
Recall in memory refers to the retrieval of events or information from the past. Along with encoding and storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: free recall, cued recall and serial recall...
information that is positive with their self-concept.
It is proposed that MN arises as a result of a number of underlying motive
Motive
-Creative or artistic work:* Motive art movement, a philosophical artistic movement started by the artist Blake Ward* Motive , 1990* Motive , 1990* The Motive, a punk band...
s, such as self-enhancement
Self-enhancement
Self-enhancement is a type of motivation that works to make people feel good about themselves and to maintain self-esteem. This motive becomes especially prominent in situations of threat, failure or blows to one's self-esteem...
- the pattern of forgetting associated with MN only relates to information about the individual self. Empirical studies have demonstrated that when participants are asked to recall items of positive and negative information from a list, MN only occurred if the information was directed at the individual – recall for positive and negative items was unaffected if it was about another person. Self-esteem
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
has also been implicated in MN, since a bias towards recall for positive information about the self was observed to be associated with higher self-liking.
Mnemic Neglect Model
Originally called the Inconsistency-negativity Neglect model, the later-renamed Mnemic Neglect Model offers an explanation of how information about the self is processed in memory.Basic tenets of the Mnemic Neglect Model:
- Individuals are motivated to maintain a positive self concept, thus are prone to neglecting to process information that is inconsistent with it
- Information that is inconsistent with, or negative about the self is more likely to be neglected than positive or consistent information
- Whether the information is about a central (more important) or peripheral (less important) aspect of the self modulates the effect of mnemic neglect; negative information is more likely to be neglected when it refers to a central aspect of the self rather than a peripheral one
Origins
MN has been linked to existing accounts of memoryMemory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
, and it is theorised that the bias towards forgetting negative/inconsistent feedback is apparent at a number of stages in the memory process.
It may arise at the encoding stage due to a bias in which positive/consistent information is more likely to be attended to, and negative/consistent information is selectively avoided, thus is less likely to be encoded. See also: Selective attention.
MN could also be evident at the retrieval
Retrieval
Retrieval could refer to:* Information retrieval* Text retrieval* Image retrieval* Document retrieval* Music information retrieval* Medical retrieval* Data retrieval* Knowledge retrieval...
stage, in which positive/consistent information is more readily available than negative/inconsistent information, thus facilitating or impairing recall respectively. Numerous studies demonstrate that desirable memories are more frequently recalled than undesirable ones.
The retention
Retention
Retention may refer to:* Retention, in learning, the ability to retain facts and figures in memory ** Selective retention* Cultural retention* Customer retention...
stage has also been implicated, as it is shown that the affect
Affect (psychology)
Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Affect is a key part of the process of an organism's interaction with stimuli. The word also refers sometimes to affect display, which is "a facial, vocal, or gestural behavior that serves as an indicator of affect" .The affective domain...
associated with negative memories diminishes quicker (thus retained for less time) than that of positive memories (See: Fading Affect Bias. This suggests a bias towards remembering positive information, which could also extend to memories pertaining to the self when considering MN.