PSYCHOLOGY UNIT 3 CHAPTER 08- Forgetting Flashcards
☀️☀️☀️FORGETTING CURVE
- Herman Ebbinghaus (1885)
- participant = himself
- learned lists of pronounceable nonsense 3-letter syllables
- tested himself at various times to determine what percentage of the learnt material he had retained
- IV= time, operationalised as 20 minutes vs. 1 hour vs. 8 hours vs. 24 hours vs. 2 days vs. 6 days vs. 31 days
- DV= words remembered
❓❓❓define forgetting
-inability to retrieve information that was previously stored in memory not amnesia
☀️☀️☀️FORGETTING
- most forgetting occurs immediate after the information had been learnt
- if original learning was over learned, material is more likely to be retained for longer and with greater accuracy
- factors such as type, complexity, and intelligence don’t seem to affect rate of learning
❓❓❓what are the four theories of forgetting?
- Retrieval failure theory
- Interference theory
- Motivated forgetting
- Decay theory
❓❓❓define Retrieval Failure Theory
- correct cues to retrieve information are not used or are not available
i. e. Memory is never GONE, the wrong cue has been used to find it
Retrieval cue= prompt to assist recollection of memory
E.g. Smells, questions, photos, person, emotional state, place etc
-includes Tip Of the Tongue phenomenon
❓❓❓explain the Tip Of the Tongue phenomenon, it’s explain action and the suggestions
- a state of ‘feeling’ that occurs when you are aware of knowing something, and confident you will eventually remember it, but you are not able to retrieve it from memory at that point in time
- can often recall certain features
EXPLANATION
- retrieval failure theory (wrong cues used)
- interference theory (info blocked by interference from similar sounding material)
SUGGESTS
memories are stored in a complex way and in a number of locations
❓❓❓define the interference theory
- forgetting in LTM occurs because other memories interfere with the retrieval of what we are trying to recall
- more prominent when 2 sets of materials are very similar
❓❓❓distinguish between Retroactive and Proactive Interference
RETROACTIVE
-new information interferes with the ability to remember old information
PROACTIVE
-old information interferes with the ability to remember new information
❓❓❓name two strengths and two limitations of the interference theory
STRENGTHS
- has face validity (sounds like it makes sense)
- has been replicated in a lab
LIMITATIONS
- use of recall in experiments (recall is prone to interference)
- in real life, interference might not occur as often
❓❓❓define Motivated forgetting
-occurs when a person has a reason to forget memories that are stored in LTM
(Memories are still stored in LTM but are too upsetting or disturbing to remember)
-two types; suppression and repression
RUSC = Repression is Unconscious, Suppression is Conscious
❓❓❓explain Repression (motivated forgetting)
- painful or distressing memories are unconsciously pushes to an inaccessible part of the mind and the person is unaware that these memories exist
- proposed by Freud
- memories prevented from coming into conscious awareness as a defence mechanism (prevents stress/anxiety e.g. Sexual abuse, bullying, torture etc)
❓❓❓explain Suppression (motivated forgetting)
- conscious refusal to access memories which are available
- you know the event occurred and you can access it but you choose not to think about it
❓❓❓what are some criticisms of Motivated Forgetting
- validity of theory is questioned
- controversial due to child sexual abuse cases (no corroboration of allegations, memories may be incorrect)
- lack of experimental research (because it is unethical)
❓❓❓Define the Decay Theory
-suggests that memory traces in the brain will fade over time through lack of use and eventually become unavailable
(Forgetting as a physiological process)
❓❓❓what are some criticisms of the Decay Theory?
- hasn’t been shown in research (difficult to research empirically)
- not able to account for sudden recollection of events or information
- elderly people can recollect memories from youth despite not accessing them for a while
However, it has been shown that neural pathways do decline over lifespan
