In this experiment, we will show you English words one at a time. After each word, we will ask you to either remember the word or forget the word. We will then test your memory for the words that we asked you to remember.

If the word is followed by a green letter R, please try to remember the word.

If the word is followed by a red letter F, please try to forget the word.

Click on the button below to continue.

Next, we will test your memory for the words you just saw. We will show you words one at a time. Some of them be from the list you just studied, and others will be new.

Although we told you we would only test you on the words we asked you to remember, we will actually test you on all the words you saw previously, even those we asked you to forget. If you see a word we asked you to forget, please indicate that you HAD seen it previously.

You can respond either by clicking the YES or NO buttons below each word or by pressing the "y" or "n" keys on your keyboard.

Click on the button below to continue.

In this moment, I current feel _______ strong.

not at all

somewhat

moderately

extremely

In this moment, I current feel _______ blue.

not at all

somewhat

moderately

extremely

In this moment, I current feel _______ miserable.

not at all

somewhat

moderately

extremely

In this moment, I current feel _______ downhearted.

not at all

somewhat

moderately

extremely

In this moment, I current feel _______ alive.

not at all

somewhat

moderately

extremely

In this moment, I current feel _______ sad.

not at all

somewhat

moderately

extremely

In this moment, I current feel _______ safe.

not at all

somewhat

moderately

extremely

In this moment, I current feel _______ gloomy.

not at all

somewhat

moderately

extremely

In this moment, I current feel _______ healthy.

not at all

somewhat

moderately

extremely

In this moment, I current feel _______ hopeful.

not at all

somewhat

moderately

extremely

In general, I _______ feel gloomy.

rarely

sometimes

often

always

In general, I _______ feel happy.

rarely

sometimes

often

always

In general, I _______ feel depressed.

rarely

sometimes

often

always

In general, I _______ feel sad.

rarely

sometimes

often

always

In general, I _______ feel hopeless.

rarely

sometimes

often

always

In general, I _______ feel low.

rarely

sometimes

often

always

In general, I _______ feel whole.

rarely

sometimes

often

always

In general, I _______ feel safe.

rarely

sometimes

often

always

In general, I _______ feel peaceful.

rarely

sometimes

often

always

In general, I _______ feel like I enjoy life.

rarely

sometimes

often

always

First, thank you very much for taking part in our study.

In this experiment, you first saw a list of English words one at a time. For each word, we either asked you to remember or forget the word. Later, we tested your memory for all of those words, including the words we initially asked you to forget. Previous research has consistently shown that the to-be-forgotten words are, in fact, remembered less frequently than the to-be-remembered words.

The words you saw were divided into positive, neutral, and negative emotional categories. In this condition of the experiment, you were exclusively asked to forget emotionally negative words and remember neutral and positive words. We then asked you some questions about your experiences current and typical mood using the State-Trait Depression Scale, a validated measure of depressive symptoms in the moment and over time.

Research has demonstrated that depression is associated with stronger memory for negative information, and recent research has suggested that engaging in basic memory tasks that draw information away from negative information can help alleviate symptoms. This study was a pilot test evaluating whether intentional, directed forgetting of emotionally negative words can produce a temporary decrease in depressive and ruminative symptoms.

If you have any questions about the research, please contact Dr. Evan Curtis at evan.curtis@boothuc.ca or 1-204-924-4881.

Research publications typically require reporting on participant demographics. If you can please answer the following two questions, it would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to receive a summary of the results, please provide your email in the space below (please note that this is optional; we do not need your email address if you do not wish to receive a summary of the results).

What is your preferred gender identity?

What is your age in years?

Email address (OPTIONAL)

Click on the button below to send your data back to the first page.