Towards a cognitive and neurobiological model of motivated forgetting.
Historically, research on forgetting has been dominated by the assumption that forgetting is passive, reflecting decay, interference, and changes in context. This emphasis arises from the pervasive assumption that forgetting is a negative outcome. Here, we present a functional view of forgetting in which the fate of experience in memory is determined as much by motivational forces that dictate the focus of attention as it is by passive factors. A central tool of motivated forgetting is retrieval suppression, a process whereby people shut down episodic retrieval to control awareness. We review behavioral, neurobiological, and clinical research and show that retrieval suppression leads us to forget suppressed experiences. We discuss key questions necessary to address to develop this model, relationships to other forgetting phenomena, and the implications of this research for understanding recovered memories. This work provides a foundation for understanding how motivational forces influence what we remember of life experience.
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, England, UK. michael.anderson@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk
Michael C
MC
Anderson
Ean
E
Huddleston
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D012094:Repression, Psychology; D055815:Young Adult