Suppressing unwanted memories

Current Directions in Psychological Science

Volumn 18, Issue 4, 2009, Pages 189-194

  Anderson, Michael C ^a,b   Levy, Benjamin J ^c  

^a MRC COGNITION AND BRAIN SCIENCES UNIT   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF OREGON   (United States)

Author keywords

Executive control; Forgetting; Inhibition; Memory; Trauma

Indexed keywords

EID: 69949129820     PISSN: 09637214     EISSN: 14678721     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01634.x     Document Type: Article

References (22)

1. Anderson, M.C. (2003). Rethinking interference theory: Executive control and the mechanisms of forgetting. Journal of Memory and Language, 49, 415-445. A comprehensive overview of empirical findings and theoretical issues related to inhibitory processes in memory.
2. Anderson, M.C., & Green, C. (2001). (See References). The original empirical article demonstrating that conscious attempts to prevent an unwanted memory from entering awareness cause later memory impairment.
3. Anderson, M.C., Ochsner, K., Kuhl, B., Cooper, J., Robertson, E., Gabrieli, S.W., et al. (2004). (See References). The first neuroimaging study to show that stopping retrieval is associated with increased activity in regions involved in motor stopping and decreases in regions associated with successful memory retrieval.
4. Bjork, E.L., & Bjork, R.A. (2003). Intentional forgetting can increase, but not decrease, the residual influences of to-be-forgotten information. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 29, 524-531. An illustration of related research with the directed forgetting procedure, demonstrating that material inhibited in memory may still exert influences outside of awareness.
5. Levy, B.J., & Anderson, M.C. (2008). (See References). A review focusing on causes of individual differences in the ability to suppress unwanted memories.
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9. Anderson, M.C., Reinholz, J., Kuhl, B.A. Mayr, U. (2009). Intentional suppression of unwanted memories grows more difficult as we age. Manuscript submitted for publication.
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