...the ability to repress is quite useful. Those who cannot do this well tend to let thoughts stick in their mind. They ruminate, which can pave a path to depression. And/or OCD. I knew someone with this; it took the form of obsession far more than compulsion.

Attention really does affect how well you remember something--or don't. I confess that I tend not to remember things if I think I'm not going to need that information again. I had a really high GPA in college because most of the tests consisted of having to spit back out a ton of force-fed facts; but within a few weeks I'd forget most of them.

I have tried to do better with peoples' names lately. Used to be, if I met someone more or less in passing--"Jackie, this is my cousin Cecelia Jones; she's visiting from Arizona"--I wouldn't remember the name by the time I left the party. blush