ForgettingForgettingChapter 8, Lecture 5Chapter 8, Lecture 5

“A good memory is helpful, but so is the abilityto forget. If a memory-enhancing pill becomesavailable, it had better not be too effective.”

- David Myers

Forgetting

An inability to retrieve information due to poor encoding, storage, or

retrieval.

Encoding Failure

We cannot remember what we do not encode.

Some common examples of encoding Some common examples of encoding failure???failure???

Storage DecayPoor durability of stored memories leads to their decay. Ebbinghaus

showed this with his forgetting curve.

Retaining SpanishBahrick (1984) showed a similar pattern of

forgetting and retaining over 50 years.

Retrieval Failure

Although the information is retained in the memory store, it cannot be accessed.

Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) is a retrieval failure phenomenon. Given a cue (What makes blood cells red?) the subject says

the word begins with an H (hemoglobin).

Proactive Interference

Learning some new information may disruptretrieval of other information (proactive

interference)

Retroactive Interference

Sleep prevents retroactive interference. Therefore, itleads to better recall.

Confusing Terms – Answer in your journal:

Suppose that one night you spend an hour studying Latin, then an hour studying English. In being tested the next day, how would (a) retroactive interference and (b) proactive interference come about in this example?

If tested on Latin the next day, the English wouldretroactively interfere with your Latin retrieval.

If tested on English the next day, the Latin wouldproactively interfere with your English retrieval.

Motivated Forgetting

Motivated Forgetting: People unknowingly revise their memories.

Repression: A defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. Sigmund Freud

Culver P

ictures

Why do we forget?

Forgetting can occur at any memory stage. We filter, alter, or lose

much information during these stages.

p.355

HomeworkRead p.356-364

“…increasing numbers of memory researchersthink repression rarely, if ever, occurs… wemay have intrusive memories of the verytraumatic experiences we would most like toforget.”

- David Myers