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  11. Intentions To Forget And The Importance Of Interference: Further Tests Of The Strategic Retrieval Account Of Recent List-method Directed Forgetting

Intentions to forget and the importance of interference: further tests of the strategic retrieval account of recent list-method directed forgetting

Liz T Gilbert1, Peter F Delaney1

  • 1Department of Psychology, UNC Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA.

Memory (Hove, England)
|June 14, 2025

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View abstract on PubMed

Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

People can forget recent information using recent directed forgetting. This study found retrieving earlier information aids forgetting, but recognition testing and categorized lists impact this effect differently than predicted.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Human Memory
  • Directed Forgetting

Background:

  • Recent directed forgetting is a phenomenon where individuals can intentionally forget the most recent of two presented lists.
  • A strategic retrieval account suggests forgetting is achieved by retrieving earlier information, causing interference and new learning.
  • This study investigates the predictions of this account and its boundary conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the strategic retrieval account of recent directed forgetting.
  • To examine how retrieval of earlier information influences forgetting of recent information.
  • To investigate the boundary conditions of this effect, specifically recognition testing and list categorization.

Main Methods:

  • Four experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses.
Keywords:
Directed forgettinginterferenceretrieval-induced forgettingstrategic retrieval

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  • Participants were presented with two lists of items and given specific retrieval or forgetting instructions.
  • Testing methods included recall and recognition, with lists being either categorized or unrelated.

    • Main Results:

    • Experiments 1 and 2 supported the prediction that retrieving List 1 without intent to forget promotes forgetting of List 2.
    • Recognition testing eliminated the directed forgetting effect (Experiment 3).
    • Contrary to predictions, categorized lists facilitated forgetting regardless of category relatedness, despite reduced interference (Experiment 4).

    Conclusions:

    • The findings support the strategic retrieval account of recent directed forgetting under certain conditions.
    • Recognition testing appears to disrupt the strategic retrieval process necessary for directed forgetting.
    • The results indicate a dissociation between context change through retrieval and context setting through new learning.
    testing effect