FORGETTING

FORGETTING

Defined as:

The inability to retrieve previously stored information The information is not LOST just cannot be RETRIEVED

FORGETTING IS ADAPTIVE

Forgetting is adaptive because it relieves our mind of clutter If we had all our memory floating around our head all day we would not be able to take in new information and it keeps us sane and on task

Forgetting Curve

The forgetting curve is a graph showing the pattern (rate and amount) of forgetting that occurs over time.

Forgetting Curve

A typical forgetting curve shows that forgetting is rapid soon after the original learning Over half the material is forgotten in the first hour, then the rate slows down Any memory remaining after 8 hours is likely to remain stable for a long time

Factors that affect forgetting

Amount of material retained is greater when the learning is done over extended periods of time (eg months) Rate of forgetting is slower when the material is meaningful Influenced greatly by how well the initial learning took place- the better the original encoding the longer the material is likely to be retained

Measures of Retention
Recall, Recognition and Re-learning page 366

What are the colours of the rainbow?

ROY G BIV RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, INDIGO, VIOLET

Which of the following is a true colour of the rainbow?

Purple
Pink

Brown
Blue

What is an easy acronym to remember the 7 colours of the rainbow?

ROY

G BIV

What are the colours of the rainbow?

ROY G BIV RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, INDIGO, VIOLET

RECALL- retrieving facts and information from stored memories

Which of the following is a true colour of the rainbow? Purple Pink Brown Blue RECOGNITION- identifying the correct information from a number of alternatives

What is an easy acronym to remember the 7 colours of the rainbow?

ROY G BIV

RE- LEARNING- learning again something which has been learned before but was not remembered well

Measures of Retention

Memory retention is measured by examining what information is retrieved. It is also measured by how well it has been retained. Each measure of retention has a relative sensitivity measurement. Sensitivity means how well information is able to be retrieved once stored in memory

Sensitivity Ratings
Recall is the least sensitive ( this means that remembering something is more difficult using this method) RE-learning is the most sensitive Recognition is more sensitive than recall, but less sensitive than re-learning In other words in order from least to most sensitive it looks like this 1. RECALL (good) 2. RECOGNITION (better) 3. RE-LEARNING (best)

Re-Learning

Re-learning means to learn something again which was previously stored in your memory but not entirely able to be remembered. If we re-learn information it is retained more quickly. It is retained more quickly because previous experience has helped us.

The Saving Score

This was developed by Herman Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) His test revealed the following
(time for orginal learning) ( time for re-learning) Saving Score= ----------------------------------------------------------------(time for original learning)

Eg if it took 1 hour to learn something the first time and only 45 minutes to re-learn it the second time- that is a savings score of 25 per cent 60-45 x 100 = 25 60

Theories of Forgetting
Pages 371-387

1.

2.

3.

4.

Forgetting occurs because the wrong retrieval cue has been used- RETRIEVAL FAILURE Forgetting occurs because there is interference from other memories- INTERFERENCE THEORY Forgetting occurs because we are motivated unconsciously to forget- MOTIVATED FORGETTING Forgetting occurs because the physical trace created by a new memory fades over times because of disuse.: DECAY THEORY

THERE ARE FOUR MAIN THEORIES OF FORGETTING

RETREIVAL FAILURE THEORY

Forgetting occurs because the wrong retrieval cue has been used

Retrieval Failure Theory

This theory tells us that forgetting happens not because information is lost but because we dont use the right retrieval cues A retrieval cue is anything that assists the process of locating and recovering information stored in our memory This theory is also known as cue- dependant

forgetting

TOT

TOT= Tip of the tongue phenomenon You are sure you know it and that at any moment you will remember the required information.

INTERFERENCE THEORY
Forgetting occurs because there is interference from other memories

Interference Theory

This theory proposes that forgetting occurs because the material being retrieved is becoming confused with other information in memory, this is more so if the other memories are similar. There are two types of interference theories RETROACTIVE and PROACTIVE

RETROACTIVE

New information interferes with the retrieval of recently learned material RINO (Retroactive Interference New information interferes with Old information)

NEW

INTERFERES

OLD

PROACTIVE

This is the opposite to retroactive Old information interferes with the ability to remember New information PION (Proactive Interference Old information interferes with New information)

OLD

INTERFERES

NEW

MOTIVATED FORGETTING

This is forgetting that occurs because of a strong desire to forget This is usually because of a disturbing or upsetting experience There are two types of motivated forgetting

REPRESSION and SUPPRESSIONS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlX3P7Gsgk E

MOTIVATED FORGETTING THEORY

Forgetting occurs because we are motivated unconsciously to forget

REPRESSION

Is an unconscious process The individual blocks memory of an event or experience The individual will do this because it is too psychologically painful to remember the information The famous psychologist Freud believed that this type of repression was a form of self defence He believed that these memories were not losthowever they were very difficult to retrieve Read page 390

SUPPRESSION

This involves the deliberate effort to keep a memory from our consciousness They choose not to think about it

DECAY THEORY
Forgetting occurs because the physical trace created by a new memory fades over times because of disuse.:

DECAY THEORY

This theory suggests that memories that are not used become weaker and weaker as time goes on Unused memories may decay to a point where they are no longer able to be recollected

Organic Causes of Forgetting

Suggests that forgetting occurs due to physiological damage, such as amnesia. There are 2 types of amnesia
Retrograde Amnesia Damage affects a persons ability to retrieve memories before the damage occurred. Nearly always return (inability to remember old memories) Anterograde Amnesia The most common type. An inability to form new memories. Unable to recover memories (inability to form new ones)

WORK TO COMPLETE
1) READ- Chapter 7 THEORIES of FORGETTING 2) FOGETTING handout matching the term with the definition. 3) Theories of forgetting Revision test 4) STUDY ON- questions on the theories

Manipulation and Improvement of Memory

CHAPTER 8

Quality of Encoding

The quality of retrieval from LTM depends on how well you store or organise that information. Information that is organised well as it is being encoded into LTM is far more likely to be successfully retrieved at a later time

Organisation

Is the process of grouping individual items together Grouping is the forming of a relationship between two items You probably do it a lot without realising it

Organisation of Information

Dog Couch Tulip Cat Rose Kitchen Bed Pig Wattle

If asked you may remember these under the following groupings ANIMALS FLOWERS HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

Context- Dependant Cues

Ever gone back to your old primary school and a rush of memories come back to you? Thats because you have put yourself back in that context (or situation) where the memories were first formed and so retrieving them from LTM becomes easier

Context- Dependant Cues

These are environmental cues that act as retrieval cues to help you access the memories These cues may be sights, sounds and smells within a specific situation Eg having a test in the same room you learnt the information is an advantage to recalling that knowledge from LTM

STATE DEPENDANT CUES

There is evidence that shows that if learning took place while you were in a certain physiological state or mood, that you will recall that information better if you put yourself back in the same state when trying to recall from LTM. These are internal cues that are associated with the physiological or psychological state

STATE DEPENDANT CUES

Feeling

happy makes you remember happy memories feeling sad makes you remember sad memories

MNEMONIC DEVICES

These are techniques for enhancing or improving memory These can be visual or verbal Mnemonic strategies are always internal- writing a shopping list on a piece of paper is not a mnemonic strategy because it relies on external cues

ACRONYMS

A C Y R M O S N

pronounceable words using the first

letter to act as a cue for the term to be recalled Eg Roy G Biv ANZAC etc

ACROSTICS

These are phrases or poems where the first letter of each words functions to help with recall. The difference here is that the letters are REFORMULATED so that the letters form a SENTENCE EG Never Eat Soggy Weetbix North, East , South, West

NARRATIVE CHAINING

Also known as the link method because it involves linking an item on a list with the previous one. You do this when you have a list of words and turn them onto a story or song for you to remember them

NARRATIVE CHAINING
EG Farmer, dart, skate, hedge, colony, duck furniture

A farmer darted out of the forest, skated around a hedge, past a colony of ducks and tripped on some furniture

EFFECT OF MISLEADING QUESTIONS AND EYE-WITNESS TESTIMONIES

MANIPULATION OF MEMORY