Emotional Constraints on Intentional Forgetting

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 43 (2007) 780–786 www.elsevier.com/locate/jesp Emotional constraints on intentional forgetting B. Keith Payne ¤, Elizabeth Corrigan Department of Psychology, Campus Box 3270, Davie Hall, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA Received 20 October 2005; revised 13 July 2006 Available online 12 September 2006 Abstract One way people control the contents of their minds is intentional forgetting—voluntarily forgetting events after they have hap- pened. The events people would most like to forget are unpleasant and emotional. This study used a directed forgetting procedure with emotional and neutral pictures to examine whether people can intentionally forget emotional events as easily as mundane ones. When the to-be-forgotten list was neutral, participants showed successful intentional forgetting. But when the to-be-forgotten list was emotional, directed forgetting failed. Results contribute to understanding the ways that emotion constrains mental control by capturing mental processes including memory retrieval. Emotion may short-circuit attempts to forget those parts of the past people would most like to forget. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Forgetting; Emotion; Memory Introduction environment (Ohman, Flykt, & Esteves, 2001), color the interpretation of new information (Murphy & Zajonc, In the Wlm Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Gon- 1993), and guide decision-making (Bechara, Damasio, & dry, 2004), a corporation named Lacuna, Inc. has developed Damasio, 2000). These cognitive adjustments make a per- technology for the focused erasure of unwanted memories. son more sensitive to cues that may pose a threat or require Customers choosing this procedure all want to erase painful action. In short, emotions are signals that an event is memories—ex-lovers, departed spouses, long-time pets. important and requires a response. Along with these other What happens when a person tries to forget an emotional cognitive adjustments, emotion may enhance memory. A past? Research suggests that the mind treats emotional strong memory for a painful event will help avoid it in the events diVerently from mundane ones, often resulting in bet- future, while a strong memory for a pleasant event will help ter recall when people try to remember. But emotional mem- seek it out again. From an adaptationist perspective, a well- ories are also unique in another way. Sometimes, people do designed cognitive system is likely to build in a preference not want to remember. This article asks whether emotional for emotional memory. memories linger when people would rather forget. In a well-known study based on this rationale, Brown and Kulik (1977) predicted that dramatic events such as the Emotion and memory assassination of John F. Kennedy should produce strong and detailed photograph-like memories. Although such Emotions are functional because they signal important “Xashbulb” memories do appear to be accompanied by events and prepare a body and mind to react (Dolan, 2002; subjective qualities such as vividness and conWdence, later Frijda, 1986; Tooby & Cosmedes, 1990). For example, emo- research showed that they are not necessarily accurate tions draw attention to the most relevant aspects of the (Neisser & Harsch, 1992; Talarico & Rubin, 2003). In some cases, autobiographical memory for emotional events is * Corresponding author. more distorted than memory for neutral events (Marsh, E-mail address: [email protected] (B. Keith Payne). Tversky, & Hutson, 2006). The fact that even highly 0022-1031/$ - see front matter © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.07.005 B. Keith Payne, E. Corrigan / Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 43 (2007) 780–786 781 emotional memories can be prone to errors led some theo- condition, which is prima-facie evidence for intentional for- rists to doubt whether emotion plays the strong role in getting. However, demand eVects could also cause some sub- memory that was posited (Brewer, 1992; McCloskey, 1992). jects in the Forget condition to withhold words from the Wrst The perspective emerging from recent research puts these list that they actually remember. The second result is more two views in a larger context. Even though emotional memo- diYcult to explain away with demand eVects; participants in ries are not photograph-like copies of experience, well-con- the Forget condition show better memory for the second list trolled studies have shown that emotion can enhance than participants in the Remember condition. This Wnding memory accuracy (e.g., Bradley, Greenwald, Petry, & Lang, provides evidence that participants in the Forget condition 1992; Ochsner, 2000). Memory is strengthened most for the do not have the Wrst list as a source of interference. Partici- central, emotionally meaningful aspects of events, often at pants in the Remember condition have two sets of items the expense of peripheral details (Easterbrook, 1959). Neuro- competing for retrieval, but those in the Forget condition psychological evidence suggests that interactions between the have only one. These two results—lower recall of the to-be- amygdala and hippocampus are critical (e.g., Cahill & forgotten words and higher recall of the to-be-remembered McGaugh, 1998; Hamann, 2001; McGaugh, 2003; Labar & words—make up the intentional forgetting eVect. Phelps, 1998; Ochsner & Schacter, 2000; Phelps, 2004). These The key to intentional forgetting is what happens when studies show that emotionally arousing events spark intense memories are retrieved. The importance of retrieval has amygdala activity. The amygdala is believed to alter how the been demonstrated in studies that compare recall and rec- hippocampus consolidates memories, resulting in preferential ognition memory tasks. Success on either kind of task memory for emotional events. These Wndings suggest that, all requires that items be encoded and stored. Whereas recall else equal, emotional events are more likely to be remem- tasks require active search and retrieval of a memory, rec- bered than unemotional events. We know almost nothing, ognition tests present the studied item as a direct cue to however, about how emotional memories respond when peo- memory. That item needs only to be checked against what- ple deliberately endeavor to erase them. ever representation is stored. Because the directed forgetting eVect is strong on recall tasks but weak or absent on Intentional forgetting recognition tasks, theorists have concluded that retrieval inhibition, rather than unlearning, is key to intentional for- People spend a lot of time trying to regulate the contents getting (Bjork, 1989; Geiselman, Bjork, & Fishman, 1983; of their own minds. One way they do so is “up-front,” by but see Sheard & MacLeod, 2005). Because participants in selectively attending to certain aspects of their world the Forget condition perform well on a recognition test of (Jacoby, Kelley, & McElree, 1999). This may be one of the the to-be-forgotten words, the items must be stored in most successful ways to control the contents of memory memory. But retrieval is blocked in the Forget condition. because how people direct their attention strongly aVects Bjork (1989) provides an example of how this trick of what they later recall (Broadbent, 1957). Another way peo- memory beneWts drivers when parking in a new spot every ple regulate their thoughts is “on-line,” by intentionally day. For today, it is useful to remember where the car is suppressing particular thoughts. On-line regulation can be parked. But it is also useful to forget where the car was successful or unsuccessful depending on certain factors, parked yesterday, as it prevents confusion about where the including whether attention and a good distracter are avail- car is now. Intentional forgetting can help update memory able (Wegner, 1994). Both methods of mental control can for any changing information, like wrong directions, a be fragile. Attention can be captured, and suppressed switched meeting time, or a friend’s new phone number. thoughts can rebound. But once a person has attended to But is it equally eVective for forgetting an ex-lover’s phone an event, thought about it, and consigned it to memory, number after a painful breakup? We have only the slimmest there is still one option. He or she may choose to forget. evidence about how intentional forgetting fairs against an Research on intentional forgetting shows that people emotional memory. can forget certain information when they wish to (Bjork, 1970; Bjork & Woodward, 1973). In a typical directed for- Intentional forgetting and emotion getting experiment, participants study a list of words with A few studies have examined intentional forgetting in instructions to remember them for a later test. In one condi- the context of emotion. These studies have mainly con- tion (the Forget condition) the experimenter tells partici- cerned clinical disorders and coping styles. For example, pants to forget the Wrst list, which they have already Power and colleagues (2000) reported that clinically studied, and concentrate on learning a second list. In the depressed participants showed no directed forgetting for other condition (the Remember condition) participants are unpleasant words (see also Hertel & Girstle, 2003). told to remember both lists of words. On a later test, both Depressed participants showed improved recall for to-be- groups are asked to recall all the words on both lists, ignor- forgotten words without

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