We are frequently exposed to situations where we need to remember important information when our attentional resources are divided; however, it was previously unclear how divided attention impacts responsible remembering: selective memory for important information to avoid consequences for forgetting. In the present study, we examined participants’ memory for valuable information, metacognitive accuracy, and goal-directed cognitive control mechanisms when under full and divided attention. In Experiment 1, participants were presented with words paired with point values counting towards their score if recalled but were required to “bet” on whether they would remember it. Results revealed that selective memory for high-value information was impaired under divided attention. In Experiment 2, we presented participants with unassociated word pairs and solicited metacognitive predictions of recall (i.e., JOLs). Results revealed that the relative accuracy of participants’ metacognitive judgments was enhanced when studying under divided attention. Experiment 3 examined cognitive control mechanisms to selectively remember goal-relevant information at the expense of information that could potentially be offloaded (i.e., responsible forgetting). Results revealed that participants’ ability to strategically prioritize goal-relevant information at the expense of information that could be offloaded was preserved under divided attention. Collectively, responsible attention encompasses how attentional resources impact one’s ability to engage in responsible remembering and we demonstrate that responsible remembering can be impaired, enhanced, and preserved in certain contexts.

当我们的注意力资源被分散时，我们经常会遇到需要记住重要信息的情况；然而，以前并不清楚注意力分散如何影响负责任的记忆：对重要信息的选择性记忆以避免遗忘的后果。在本研究中，我们检查了参与者在全神贯注和分散注意力下对有价值信息的记忆、元认知准确性和目标导向的认知控制机制。在实验 1 中，向参与者展示了与记入分数的分值配对的单词，如果回忆起来，参与者需要“打赌”他们是否会记住它。结果显示，在注意力分散的情况下，对高价值信息的选择性记忆受损。在实验二中，我们向参与者展示了不相关的词对，并征求了回忆的元认知预测（即 JOL）。结果显示，在注意力分散的情况下学习时，参与者元认知判断的相对准确性得到提高。实验 3 检查了认知控制机制，以牺牲可能被卸载的信息（即，负责任的遗忘）。结果显示，参与者以牺牲可卸载的信息为代价，在战略上优先考虑与目标相关的信息的能力在注意力分散的情况下得以保留。总的来说，负责任的注意力包括注意力资源如何影响一个人参与负责任记忆的能力，我们证明负责任的记忆在某些情况下可能会受到损害、增强和保留。