Effects of instructions to disregard information on its subsequent recall and use in making judgments. 1985

R S Wyer, and W H Unverzagt

Subjects were given descriptions of a person's behavior with instructions to form an impression of the person. The first behaviors in the series had implications for one trait, and the last behaviors had implications for a second trait that differed in favorableness from the first. After receiving the first set of behaviors, some subjects were told that an error had been made and that the behaviors should be disregarded. Other subjects were told instead to disregard the last behaviors presented. To-be-disregarded behaviors that occurred first in the series had little influence on judgements of either the specific trait to which they pertained or judgements of the target's likeableness, although subjects could recall these behaviors quite well. In contrast, to-be-disregarded behaviors at the end of the series did have an influence on specific trait judgements of the target, although they were recalled relatively poorly. These and other results were accounted for in terms of the general model of person memory and social information processing proposed by Wyer and Srull.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007600 Judgment The process of discovering or asserting an objective or intrinsic relation between two objects or concepts; a faculty or power that enables a person to make judgments; the process of bringing to light and asserting the implicit meaning of a concept; a critical evaluation of a person or situation. Judgement,Judgements,Judgments
D008568 Memory Complex mental function having four distinct phases: (1) memorizing or learning, (2) retention, (3) recall, and (4) recognition. Clinically, it is usually subdivided into immediate, recent, and remote memory.
D010551 Personality Behavior-response patterns that characterize the individual. Personalities
D011939 Mental Recall The process whereby a representation of past experience is elicited. Recall, Mental
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001290 Attitude An enduring, learned predisposition to behave in a consistent way toward a given class of objects, or a persistent mental and/or neural state of readiness to react to a certain class of objects, not as they are but as they are conceived to be. Sentiment,Attitudes,Opinions,Opinion,Sentiments
D012718 Set, Psychology Readiness to think or respond in a predetermined way when confronted with a problem or stimulus situation. Psychological Set,Set (Psychology),Psychology Set,Set, Psychological
D012919 Social Behavior Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual or group usually of the same species. Sociality,Behavior, Social,Behaviors, Social,Social Behaviors

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