The item and list methods of directed forgetting: test differences and the role of demand characteristics

In directed forgetting, the item method presents instructions to remember or to forget individual items; the list method presents a single mid-list instruction to forget the first half of the list. Initial free recall was better for remember (R) words than for forget (F) words under both methods. Offered 50 cents for each additional F word, subjects could recall almost no more items, eliminating a demand characteristics explanation. On a yes/no recognition test, only the item method showed directed forgetting. Retrospective instruction identification was good except for F words under the list method, where performance was at chance. There was no evidence of speed-accuracy tradeoff on the recognition or instruction identification tests. These results bring together the major findings concerning directed forgetting and support a method-based theoretical distinction.