Instructions to disregard potentially useful information: The effects of pragmatics on evaluative judgments and recall

Abstract

In two experiments, subjects given impression formation instructions heard descriptions of a person (Experiment 1), or a company contract (Experiment 2). Information was presented in one of four conditions: (a) no-presentation—a basic set; (b) no-disregard—the basic set plus an additional set; (c) confidential—the basic and additional sets, but the additional set was to-be-disregarded because it was confidential; and (d) mistake—the basic and additional sets, but the additional set was to-be-disregarded because it was incorrect. In both experiments, recall was not affected by the form of the disregard instruction. However, evaluative judgments were differentially affected: subjects in the confidential condition used the additional information in forming impressions, whereas subjects in the mistake condition did not. These results argue against directed forgetting as a general explanation of the effect of explicit cues to segregate relevant and irrelevant information.