Memory

Unlike explicit memory, which depends critically on paying adequate attention to the information to be learned, implicit memory can be robust even without full attention. People have even shown implicit memory for material presented while they were under anaesthesia! Because implicit memory affects behavior unconsciously, its effects can be difficult to control; people under its influence may not know why they are acting as they do.

Studies of people intentionally trying to forget some event reveal that their intention suppresses their conscious recollection, but it has little impact upon their implicit memory of the event. Such effects can have important practical consequences. For example, when jurors are instructed to disregard (i.e., forget) specified information, their decisions still reveal the implicit influence of that information.

Other studies show that when people are asked to suppress certain thoughts, those very thoughts later come to mind more often than they would have otherwise. Thus, attempts to suppress unpleasant thoughts and images often backfire. Research is revealing more about the ways in which unconscious memories influence our conscious thoughts and actions and how our conscious strategies can be undermined by unconscious forces. These advances should lead to improved therapies for many mental disorders, including depression and anxiety.