Nijeholt, Sarah à (2024) Mind over Memory: Exploring the Association between Anxiety and Suppression-Induced Forgetting. Master thesis, Psychology.
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Abstract
Challenges associated with suppressing unwanted memories are intricately connected to deficits in executive control, which, in turn, are implicated in intrusive thoughts and anxiety disorders, particularly Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). To investigate this relationship, a replication of Anderson and Green's (2001) Think/No-Think (TNT) paradigm was conducted. The TNT experiment aimed to explore whether actively suppressing memories leads to Suppression-Induced Forgetting (SIF). Participants initially learned word pairs and were subsequently instructed to suppress words using either Thought Avoidance (TA) or Thought Substitution (TS). SIF was then tested under two conditions: Same Probe (SP), and Independent Probe (IP), to test cue-independent forgetting. While the study found partial evidence supporting SIF for TS in SP, results for TA and IP were inconclusive. This raises questions about the role of inhibition in the suppression process, lending support to an alternative explanation involving interference. Following the experiment, participants' GAD levels were assessed. Correlations between GAD levels and SIF were inconclusive, suggesting a more complex relationship between anxiety and memory suppression. Clinical implications advocate for incorporating TS in therapeutic interventions targeting effective memory suppression. The study underscores the need for further research on anxiety and SIF, acknowledging the methodological challenges faced in the current study. Keywords: anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, executive control, suppression, Suppression- Induced Forgetting, Think/No-Think
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Supervisor name: | Wessel, J.P. |
| Degree programme: | Psychology |
| Differentiation route: | Clinical Psychology (CP) [Master Psychology] |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Feb 2024 10:00 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Feb 2024 10:00 |
| URI: | http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3125 |
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