Effects of Intentional Suppression of Recall of Unwanted Images in Repressors and Nonrepressors

Abstract

We investigated the ability to suppress recall of visual images, using the think/no-think (TNT) paradigm. Participants were 27 male undergraduates (13 repressors, 14 nonrepressors) who watched video clips of a motorbike accident as we recorded their galvanic skin response (GSR). We then conducted the TNT paradigm using motorbike accident images. Both repressors and nonrepressors recorded higher GSR when watching the video clips than at baseline. Both groups showed greater suppression of imaginary memories in the no-think condition than they did in either the think or the baseline conditions. We found repeated attempts at no-think might be an effective strategy for suppressing imaginary memories and that there were no differences in the ability of repressors and nonrepressors to suppress memory in the imaginary memory condition.