APS

2026 APS Annual Convention · 2026

Do We Really Forget Our Moral Transgressions? the Fluency of Autobiographical Memories for Moral Events

Barcelona, Spain · May 2026

Posters · Thinking & Remembering: Attention, Memory & Control

  • Alessandro Messina
    University of Aarhus, centre on Autobiographical Memory Research
  • Maria Cristina Buzzo
    Aarhus University
  • Dorthe Berntsen
    Aarhus University

Abstract

We introduced a novel Moral Memory Fluency Task to test longstanding claims that people forget their own moral transgressions. Across five studies, we found a strikingly consistent pattern of retrieval and no evidence for unethical amnesia effects, indicating that morally significant events remain available rather than being selectively repressed.

← Poster Session V