Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-9-2024
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Health, Exercise Science, and Recreation Management
First Advisor
Paul Loprinzi
Second Advisor
Matthew Reysen
Third Advisor
Nicolaas Prins
Relational Format
Dissertation/ Thesis
Abstract
This research investigates the relationship between acute exercise on retrieval-induced forgetting. Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) is a type of active forgetting that occurs when recalling an item from memory leads to the concurrent forgetting of related items connected to the same memory. Inhibition has been theorized as a potential mechanism behind RIF. Additionally, previous studies have shown that acute exercise can contribute to and enhance cognitive inhibitory processes. Therefore, an exercise-RIF relationship is plausible because the mechanisms that influence RIF, inhibition, are also influenced by exercise. Due to this understanding, the present thesis aims to investigate that when acute vigorous-intensity exercise is positioned between two cued-recall tests, acute exercise will preserve RIF over time and evaluate if the specific temporal placement of exercise plays a role in preserving RIF over time. In the experiment, a sample of 188 young adults (18-25 yo) completed a standard RIF paradigm, with the initial and delayed cued-recall rasks occurring between a bout of acute vigorous-intensity exercise. Participants were randomly assigned to either a treadmill exercise, standing (control), treadmill exercise + standing (control), standing (control) + treadmill exercise, standing (control) + standing (control). Exercise and control sessions lasted 20 minutes each, and depending on the group assignment, the retention period could range from 20 to 40 minutes. The findings demonstrated (1) evidence of a retrieval-practice effect, (2) evidence of RIF effect, and (3) RIF was preserved regardless of group assignment, but the results of (3) cannot be conclusive until the final number (N=375) of participants data is collected which is part of an ongoing research investigation.
Recommended Citation
Pitts, Anna Katherine, "The Effects of Acute Exercise on Retrieval-Induced Forgetting" (2024). Honors Theses. 3600.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3600
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