depending on the trauma or association with the memory. Although the interference theory is related to incidental forgetting, it is also a part of the motivated forgetting process. This is because it can create false memories, also known as false memory syndrome. If the memory does not have much detail with it, your brain can create other memories in place of the missing ones. This then creates a false memory. When unwelcome reminders occur, people often try to exclude unwanted memories from awareness. Stopping retrieval of an unwanted memory is known as ‘retrieval suppression’, a process that engages response override mechanisms formally similar to stopping a reflexive motor action. References Mental states