Motivated forgetting is a behaviour in which people may forget unwanted memories either consciously or unconsciously. 

It is also called a conscious coping strategy but it should not be confused with defense mechanisms. 

There are two levels of motivated forgetting, viz. Repression and Thought suppression. 

Repression: Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic model states that we subconsciously push unwanted thoughts and memories into our unconsciousness. People think that such repressed memories are completely forgotten.

e.g. a girl who had experienced sexual abuse during childhood may completely forget about it. But she may have difficulty while forming a romantic relationship. 

Thought suppression: It is a conscious effort where we forget the memories of unwanted incidents and experiences of our lives, e.g. a person will avoid talking about his breakup. 

Thought suppression can be timeconsuming and also quite difficult as such suppressed thoughts tend to reoccur, e.g. a person may try to suppress the thoughts about his ex but he may not be successful in doing so.