forgetting
Quick Summary
Forgetting, in psychology, is the inability to recall past experiences. It's more complex than memories simply fading over time. Theories suggest that memory traces, or engrams, may decay with disuse, but a clear neurochemical basis for this is still being researched.1
Interference theory proposes that established memories hinder the recall of new ones, but experimental evidence for this is not always strong. This theory also doesn't fully explain selective forgetting, such as repression, where distressing memories are pushed into the unconscious mind.12
Amnesia, a severe form of memory loss, can result from brain damage, particularly to the hippocampus, and may involve an inability to form new memories or recall past ones. Infantile amnesia refers to the common inability to remember experiences from before age three, possibly due to underdeveloped brain systems for memory encoding. Aging can also affect memory, with episodic memory (recalling specific events) often declining, while recognition abilities may remain intact.34
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learning theoryForgettingWhether immediate and short-term data simply decay or are lost through interference is a matter of controversy. However, evidence is clearer that interference affects retention of information in long-term storage. Retention of the word happy (learned as a paired associate of table) seems to…
Read MoreWhether immediate and short-term data simply decay or are lost through interference is a matter of controversy. However, evidence is clearer that interference affects retention of information in long-term storage. Retention of the word happy (learned as a paired associate of table) seems to…
Read More- psychomotor learningGeneralization and transfer
… retention, the best schedules minimize forgetting by minimizing the time between training and transfer.
Read More… retention, the best schedules minimize forgetting by minimizing the time between training and transfer.
Read More - transfer of trainingRetroactive and proactive inhibition
…the second, produces appreciably less forgetting than does retroactive inhibition, they both support the theory that interference can produce forgetting (see memory: Theories of forgetting).
Read More…the second, produces appreciably less forgetting than does retroactive inhibition, they both support the theory that interference can produce forgetting (see memory: Theories of forgetting).
Read More
- memoryThe significance of forgetting
…been learned tends to be forgotten. Although the adaptive value of forgetting may not be obvious, dramatic instances of sudden forgetting (as in amnesia) can be seen to be adaptive. In this sense, the ability to forget can be interpreted as having been naturally selected in animals. Indeed, when one’s…
Read More…been learned tends to be forgotten. Although the adaptive value of forgetting may not be obvious, dramatic instances of sudden forgetting (as in amnesia) can be seen to be adaptive. In this sense, the ability to forget can be interpreted as having been naturally selected in animals. Indeed, when one’s…
Read More - memoryMnemonic systems
…that affect the rate of forgetting. For example, nonsense syllables are learned more slowly than are an equal number of common words; if both are studied for the same length of time, the better-learned common words will be forgotten more slowly. But this does not mean that the rate of…
Read More…that affect the rate of forgetting. For example, nonsense syllables are learned more slowly than are an equal number of common words; if both are studied for the same length of time, the better-learned common words will be forgotten more slowly. But this does not mean that the rate of…
Read More - memoryForgetting
When a memory of a past experience is not activated for days or months, forgetting tends to occur. Yet it is erroneous to think that memories simply fade over time—the steps involved are far more complex. In seeking to understand forgetting in the context…
Read MoreWhen a memory of a past experience is not activated for days or months, forgetting tends to occur. Yet it is erroneous to think that memories simply fade over time—the steps involved are far more complex. In seeking to understand forgetting in the context…
Read More
