Differential Retrieval of Past and Future Autobiographical Experiences

Selective retrieval can both impair and enhance memory. In this study we analysed the effects of retrieval practice in the recall of past and future experiences. The participants generated past autobiographical experiences or imagined future experiences using recall cues of typical autobiographical experiences obtained in a previous study. The experiences were presented either in chronological or random order. Regardless of presentation order, retrieval practice produced facilitation in the free recall of practised past and future experiences. No retrieval-induced forgetting was observed for past experiences in the ordered presentation, showing that the temporal organisation of autobiographical experiences prevents the activation of inhibitory processes. Conversely, inhibition was significant in the free recall of future experiences presented in chronological order, possibly because future experiences present less welldefined temporal organisation, impairing the integration that suppresses inhibitory processes. Thus, retrieval-induced forgetting was evident in the random presentation of past and future autobiographical experiences.