Research participants who were exposed to very convincing arguments about the desirability of frequent toothbrushing misrecalled how frequently they had brushed their teeth in the preceding two weeks. This best illustrates

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that research participants misremembered how frequently they had brushed their teeth after being exposed to convincing arguments about its desirability suggests that they were motivated to forget their actual brushing behavior and replace it with a more desirable behavior. This is an example of motivated forgetting. The self-reference effect refers to the phenomenon where information is better remembered when it is personally relevant. Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information interferes with the ability to remember new information. The spacing effect refers to the phenomenon where information is better remembered when it is presented in spaced intervals rather than all at once. None of these explanations fit the scenario described in the question as well as motivated forgetting.

Research Participants Who Were Exposed to Very Convincing Arguments About