Motivated forgetting

Motivated forgetting is a theorized psychological behavior in which people may forget unwanted memories, either consciously or unconsciously. It is an example of a <a href="/facts/Defence_mechanism/DElFgLaE">defence mechanism</a>, since these are unconscious or conscious coping techniques used to reduce anxiety arising from unacceptable or potentially harmful impulses thus it can be a defence mechanism in some ways. Defence mechanisms are not to be confused with conscious <a href="/facts/Coping_(psychology)/Seg3zu9m">coping</a> strategies.
<a href="/facts/Thought_suppression/XdmWfB84">Thought suppression</a> is a method in which people protect themselves by blocking the recall of these anxiety-arousing memories. For example, if something reminds a person of an unpleasant event, their mind may steer towards unrelated topics. This could induce forgetting without being generated by an intention to forget, making it a motivated action. There are two main classes of motivated forgetting: <a href="/facts/Psychological_repression/bB30whTK">psychological repression</a> is an unconscious act, while <a href="/facts/Thought_suppression/XdmWfB84">thought suppression</a> is a conscious form of excluding thoughts and memories from awareness.

Motivated forgetting open-in-new

Motivated forgetting