Blocking & Tip of the Tongue Memory Failure

Blocking problems refer to the failure to recall something from memory. Researchers find that blocking on name recall is the most common problem.

Baker/baker paradox

People recall a person's occupation more easily than they recall a person's name. A study using the name Baker  and occupation of baker provides evidence for the difficulty and is known as the Baker/baker paradox.

A case study of a patient named LS revealed severe blocking on people's names following brain damage. The condition seen in others is now called proper-name anomia. The available research in 2021 suggests the problem is in the left cerebral hemisphere--possibly the left temporal lobe.

Tip of the Tongue (TOT)

One common blocking problem is the failure to recall accompanied by a sense that the name of a person or thing is on the "Tip of the Tongue(TOT)." The classic study known to psychology students is Roger Brown and David McNeill (1966). They found that recalling the first letter is the most common "hint" that the name is present in memory but cannot be completely recalled. [As an aside, I recalled the Brown & McNeill association with Tip of the Tongue but I got the date wrong as I found when double checking my reference.]

Some efforts at recall can prolong the blocking of TOTs. In general, TOTs resolve in about a minute.

Stress appears to increase the frequency of TOTs. You may observe this during televised debates.

Resource

Schachter, D. L. (2021). The seven sins of memory: How the mind forgets and remembers. Updated Edition. New York: Mariner. Link to Book

Key terms

#blocking #tiptofthetongue

Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

   and see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Also, consider connecting with me on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton