Titz & Verhaeghen (2010)

Motivated Forgetting Memory Processes

• Definition

  Directed forgetting comes in two procedures that are not interchangeable: the item method, where a forget cue follows each item and the effect mainly reflects reduced rehearsal at encoding, and the list method, where the cue follows a whole list; item-method effects are reliably larger

• Measured in humans

  Directed forgetting is larger and more consistent: a meta-analysis found forget cues reduced memory by d = 1.17 in younger adults and d = 0.81 in older adults, with bigger effects for the item method and for recall than recognition