Lesson 6: Forgetting

deja vu

phenomenon in which cues from the current situation unconsciously trigger the retrieval of an earlier experience

proactive interference

forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

retroactive interference

backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of previously learned information

repression

defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness

anterograde amnesia

inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

inability to remember information from one’s past

source amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned

misinformation effect

effect in which a memory has been corrupted by misleading information

reconsolidation

process in which previously stored memories are potentially altered before being stored again

displacement

process in which information that is not encoded for long-term storage will be lost as new information enters short-term memory

Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve

the course of forgetting is initially rapid, then levels off with time

positive transfer

phenomenon in which previously learned information facilitates the learning of new information

constructive memory

inferring one’s past from stored information, plus what one later imagined, expected, saw, and heard

encoding failure

information is sensed and attended to, but not deemed important, so it cannot be encoded in the brain through effortful or automatic processing past working memory

storage decay

information is sensed, attended to, and deemed important, but not linked with other information in the brain, not reinforced through long-term potentiation, and the physical memory trace deteriorates over time, so it does not stay in long-term memory

retrieval failure

information is sensed, attended to, deemed important, and reinforced through long-term potentiation, but the right cues to successfully retrieve it from long-term storage are not found and forgetting occurs

inattention

information is sensed but not attended to, so it cannot be stored past sensory memory

to improve memory…

rehearse repeatedly, make material meaningful, activate retrieval cues, use mnemonic devices, minimize proactive and retroactive interference, sleep more, and test one’s own knowledge