We report three item-method directed forgetting (DF) studies to evaluate whether DF impairs primarily item memory, or whether it also impairs associative memory. The current studies used a modified associative recognition paradigm that allowed disentangling item impairment from associative impairment in DF. Participants studied scene-object pairings, followed by DF cues (item-method), and at test were presented with a previously studied scene along with three objects, one of which was studied with that scene (target), whereas the remaining two objects were studied with different scenes (lures). Experiment 1 used an associative encoding orienting task, and DF impairment was observed only when the forget targets were paired with forget lures within the test display; however, DF was eliminated when the forget targets were paired with remember lures, possibly due to a recall-to-reject strategy. Experiment 2 used an object-focused orienting task that downplayed the encoding of associative information. The results revealed the opposite of Experiment 1, with significant DF when the forget targets were paired with remember lures, and no DF when the lures and the target came from the same memory instruction. Experiment 3 used the same orienting task as Experiment 1, but testing used a sequential procedure, where item recognition was assessed first, followed by associative recognition test. Conditionalizing associative recognition on item recognition outcomes confirmed that DF impairment of associative memory can be obtained despite retained memory for forget-cued objects. Overall, the results provide strong support for the impairment of associative memory by DF.
Across three studies, we utilized an item-method directed forgetting (DF) procedure with faces of different races to investigate the magnitude of intentional forgetting of own-race versus other-race faces. All three experiments shared the same procedure but differed in the number of faces presented. Participants were presented with own-race and other-race faces, each followed by a remember or forget memory instruction, and subsequently received a recognition test for all studied faces. We obtained a robust cross-race effect (CRE) but did not find a DF effect in Experiment
1
. Experiments
2
and
3
used shorter study and test lists and obtained a significant DF effect along with significant CRE, but no interaction between face type and memory instruction. The results suggest that own-race and other-race faces are equally susceptible to DF. The results are discussed in terms of the theoretical explanations for CRE and their implications for DF.
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