Directed forgetting of negative performed actions is difficult: A behavioural study

ABSTRACT

Strong evidence suggests that both performing actions and emotional stimuli can enhance memory by capturing attention. However, the synergetic effect of the two factors on directed forgetting has not been assessed. In this study, we used an item-method directed forgetting paradigm to examine the forgetting of emotional materials depending on whether actions were performed. The results showed that action performance influenced the directed forgetting of emotional words. Specifically, when actions were performed there was a directed forgetting effect for neutral and positive words but not for negative words. In comparison, for verbal tasks, directed forgetting was observed for all words. The elaborative encoding prior to the remember/forget instructions and the influence of negative emotion on attentional inhibition after the presentation of the instructions together suggest that it is more difficult to intentionally forget negative performed actions.

KEYWORDS:

• Action memory
• Directed forgetting
• Performing actions
• Verbal tasks
• Emotional words

Acknowledgements

We thank Songxiao Tang and Kaining Niu for invaluable help with data collection.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 31371022], National Project for 11th Five-Year Education Sciences Plan [grant number EHA090427] and Startup Foundation for Teachers with PhD Degree of Jiangsu Normal University [grant number 15XWR020].