Module 26: Forgetting, Memory Construction, and Improving Memory

What are three ways we forget, and how does each of these happen?

First, through encoding failure: Unattended information never entered our memory system. Second, through storage decay; Information fades from our memory. Third, through retrieval failure: We cannot access stored information accurately, sometimes due to interference or motivated forgetting

Freud believed (through many researchers doubt) that we ____ unacceptable memories to minimize anxiety

repress

What might life be like if we remembered all our waking experiences and all our dreams?

Real experiences would be confused with those we dreamed. When seeing people we know, we might, therefore, be unsure whether we were reacting to something they previously did or to something we dreamed they did

Imagine being a jury member in a trial for a parent accused of sexual abuse based on a recovered memory. What insights from memory research should you share with the rest of the jury

It will be important to remember the key points agreed upon by most researchers and professional associations: Sexual abuse, injustice, forgetting, and memory construction all happen; recovered memories are common; memories from before age 4 are unreliable; memories claimed to be recovered through hypnosis are especially unreliable; and memories, whether real or false, can be emotionally upsetting

Which memory strategies can help you study smarter and retain more information?

Spending more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material to boost long-term recall. Consider a study group so you can verbalize your learning. Schedule spaced (not crammed) study times. Make the material personally meaningful, with well-organized and vivid associations. Refresh your memory by returning to contexts and moods to activate retrieval cues. Use mnemonic devices. Minimize proactive and retroactive interference. Plan ahead to ensure a complete night’s sleep. test yourself repeatedly-retrieval practice is a proven retention strategy

When forgetting is due to encoding failure, information has not been transferred from

a. the environment into sensory memory

b. sensory memory into long-term memory

c. long term memory into short-term memory

d. short-term memory into long-term memory

d. short-term memory into long-term memory

Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve shows that after an inital decline, memory for novel information tends to

a. increase slightly

b. decrease noticeably

c. decrease greatly

d. level off

d. level off

You will experience less _____ interference if you learn new material in the hour before sleep than you will if you learn it before turning to another subject

retroactive

Freud proposed that painful or unacceptable memories are blocked from consciousness through a mechanism called

repression

One reason false memories form is our tendency to fill in memory gaps with our reasonable guesses and assumptions, sometimes based on misleading information. This tendency is an example of

a. proactive interference

b. the misinformation effect

c. retroactive interference

d. the forgetting curve

b. the misinformation effect

Eliza’s family loves to tell the story of how she “stole the show” as a 2-year-old, dancing at her aunt’s wedding reception. Even though she was so young, Eliza says she can recall the event clearly. How might Eliza have formed this memory?

Eliza’s immature hippocampus and minimal verbal skills made it impossible for her to encode an explicit memory of the wedding reception at the age of two. It’s more likely that Eliza learned information (from hearing the story repeatedly) that she eventually constructed into a memory that feels very real

We may recognize a face at a social gathering but be unable to remember how we know that person. This is an example of ______ _______.

source amnesia

When a situation triggers the feeling that “I’ve been here before,” you are experiencing ______ _____

deja vu

Children can be accurate eyewitnesses if

a. interviewers give the children hints about what really happened

b. a neutral person asks nonleading questions soon after the event

c. the children have a chance to talk with involved adults before the interview

d. interviewers use precise technical and medical terms

b. a neutral person asks nonleading questions soon after the event

Memory researchers involved in the study of memories of abuse tend to disagree with some therapists about which of the following statements

a. memories of events that happened before age 4 are not reliable

b. we tend to repress extremely upsetting memories

c. memories can be emotionally upsetting

d. sexual abuse happens

b. we tend to repress extremely upsetting memories