Prejudice in person memory: Self-threat biases memories of stigmatized group members

The present research investigated whether self-threat biases memory via retrieval-induced forgetting. Results show that people under self-threat whose goal is to restore their self-worth by making prejudicial judgments that deprecate others are more likely to exhibit an enhanced RIF effect for positive items and a reduced RIF for negative items ascribed to a stereotyped target (i.e., homosexual). Overall, the present findings are consistent with the view that motivation can affect the magnitude of RIF effects in person memory and that, in turn, they can serve as mechanisms for justifying desired conclusions.