Forgetting

Forgetting

1. Forgetting curve; Shows the pattern of forgetting that occurs over time.

2. Measures of retention;

   • Recall; Involves being asked to reproduce information with the fewest possible cues to assist retrieval.
     • Free recall; Involved when participants are simply asked to remember as much information as they can, in no particular order.
     • Cued recall; Makes use of more specific cues to aid retrieval.
   • Recognition; Identifying the correct information among alternatives.
   • Relearning; Learning information again that has been previously learned and stored in long-term memory.

3. Theories of forgetting;

   • Retrieval failure theory; Lack or fail to use the right cues to retrieve information stored in memory.
     • Retrieval cue; Any stimulus that assists the process of locating and recovering information stored in memory.
   • Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon; Aware of knowing something and confident you will eventually remember it but are not able to retrieve it at that point in time.
   • Interference theory; Memories interfere with the retrieval of what we are trying to recall.
   • Motivated forgetting; Strong motive or desire to forget, usually because the experience is too disturbing or upsetting to remember.
     • Repression; Unconsciously blocking a memory from entering conscious awareness.
     • Suppression; Deliberate conscious effort to keep it out of awareness.
   • Decay theory; Memories fade through disuse as time passes, it is reactivated by being used occasionally.