Memory instruction interacts with both visual and motoric inhibition of return

In the item-method directed forgetting paradigm, the magnitude of inhibition of return (IOR) is larger after an instruction to forget (F) than after an instruction to remember (R). In the present experiments, we further investigated this increased magnitude of IOR after F than after R memory instructions, to determine whether this F > R IOR pattern occurs only for the motoric form of IOR, as predicted, or also for the visual form. In three experiments, words were presented in one of two peripheral locations, followed by either an F or an R memory instruction. Then, a target appeared either at the same location as the previous word or at the other location. In Experiment 1, participants maintained fixation throughout the trial until the target appeared, at which point they made a saccade to the target. In Experiment 2, they maintained fixation throughout the entire trial and made a manual localization response to the target. The F > R IOR difference in reaction times occurred for both the saccadic and manual responses, suggesting that memory instructions modify both motoric and visual forms of IOR. In Experiment 3, participants made a perceptual discrimination response to report the identity of a target while the eyes remained fixed. The F > R IOR difference also occurred for these manual discrimination responses, increasing our confidence that memory instructions modify the visual form of IOR. We relate our findings to postulated differences in attentional withdrawal following F and R instructions and consider the implications of the findings for successful forgetting.