title: The short- and long-term consequences of directed forgetting in a working memory task.
abstract: Directed forgetting requires the voluntary control of memory. Whereas many studies have examined directed forgetting in long-term memory (LTM), the mechanisms and effects of directed forgetting within working memory (WM) are less well understood. The current study tests how directed forgetting instructions delivered in a WM task influence veridical memory, as well as false memory, over the short and long term. In a modified item recognition task Experiment 1 tested WM only and demonstrated that directed forgetting reduces false recognition errors and semantic interference. Experiment 2 replicated these WM effects and used a surprise LTM recognition test to assess the long-term effects of directed forgetting in WM. Long-term veridical memory for to-be-remembered lists was better than memory for to-be-forgotten lists-the directed forgetting effect. Moreover, fewer false memories emerged for to-be-forgotten information than for to-be-remembered information in LTM as well. These results indicate that directed forgetting during WM reduces semantic processing of to-be-forgotten lists over the short and long term. Implications for theories of false memory and the mechanisms of directed forgetting within working memory are discussed.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , MI , USA.
authors.forename: Sara B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Festini
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Reuter-Lorenz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011930:Reaction Time; D012094:Repression, Psychology; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012660:Semantics; D014836:Volition; D055815:Young Adult