Abstract
Recent research indicates that intentionally suppressing retrieval of an unwanted memory impairs its later recall. In the current study, we examined whether a similar type of memory impairment can be observed when people simply divert attention away from an unwanted memory with a distracting activity instead of intentionally suppressing its retrieval. This issue was investigated by using a modified Think/No-Think task (Anderson & Green, 2001), designed to prevent remembering the unwanted memories, instead of intentionally suppressing themselves. Although both intentional suppression and distraction impaired memory for to-be-avoided traces on an immediate test, only distraction caused the deficits in later recall after a delay of 20 minutes. These findings suggest that at least intentionally suppressing retrieval, rather than distracting attention is crucial for the long-term forgetting regulation of unwanted memories.
