It's all in the detail: Intentional forgetting of autobiographical memories using the autobiographical think/no-think task.

Abstract

Using a novel autobiographical think/no-think procedure (ATNT; a modified version of the think/no-think task), 2 studies explored the extent to which we possess executive control over autobiographical memory. In Study 1, 30 never-depressed participants generated 12 positive and 12 negative autobiographical memories. Memories associated with cue-personal word pairings were learned to criterion. Participants were then asked to recall the memory associated with some of the cue-personal word pairs (i.e., think condition) or to avoid saying or thinking about the memory associated with others (i.e., no-think condition). In a subsequent test of recall, systematic forgetting effects emerged for no-think autobiographical memories compared to baseline that received neither no-think nor think instructions. These findings were extended and replicated in a second ATNT study (using a further 30 never-depressed participants), which showed that the forgetting of autobiographical memories in the no-think condition was unlikely to be a function of thought substitution or demand characteristics.

Reasons for withdrawing belief in vivid autobiographical memories

“…The motivation category indicates that people sometimes claim to have succeeded in reducing or eliminating belief in events, even while the recollective image remains vivid. Although this category is partly reminiscent of work on intentional/directed forgetting of events (Anderson & Greene, 2001), and there is some evidence that memory for autobiographical events can be intentionally suppressed (Joslyn & Oakes, 2005;Noreen & Macleod, 2013), these studies focus on the intentional forgetting of recollective information, whereas our participants reported suppressing belief in the event but not recollective information. Theories of intentional forgetting will need to account for how belief in the occurrence of events is eliminated, both when recollection is and is not also reduced.…”

Emotional and non-emotional memories are suppressible under direct suppression instructions

“…However, the simple verbal materials in our study may not capture the emotional qualities people experience in unpleasant life events. Therefore, more work is necessary to determine whether these effects generalise to VAN SCHIE, GERAERTS, ANDERSON materials that are more naturalistic and autobiographical and that might cause discomfort, shame, embarrassment, or sadness (see Noreen & MacLeod, 2012).…”

Forgiving You Is Hard, but Forgetting Seems Easy

“…Again, participants were prompted to recall all three details concerned with each scenario (cf. Noreen & MacLeod, 2013). All scenarios were recorded.…”

“…Following this procedure, more forgetting occurs for words in the 'no-think' condition in comparison to 'think' or baseline conditions at final test where participants are encouraged to retrieve all the previously learned target words (e.g., Anderson, Reinholz, Kuhl, & Mayr, 2011;Bergstrom, de Fockert, & Richardson-Klavehn, 2009;Hanslmayer, Leipold & Bauml, 2010). Most recently, this motivated forgetting effect has also been demonstrated to apply to relatively rich autobiographical memories (Noreen & MacLeod, 2013;Stephens, Braid & Hertel, 2013). Specifically, Noreen and MacLeod found that more items of information were systematically forgotten following suppression instructions in comparison to items associated with episodes in either 'think' or baseline conditions.…”