Unit 5 Lesson 8: Forgetting and Memory Distortion

absentmindedness

lapses in memory caused by being distracted or lacking attention

amnesia

long-term memory loss caused by physical or psychological trauma or disease

anterograde amnesia

losing the memory of events that occur after brain trauma; only events that occured before the trauma can be remembered

blocking

a memory error in which a person cannot retrieve a stored memory

encoding failure

when memory loss occurs before the memory process begins

interference

when information stored in the memory is inaccessible

false memory syndrome

when someone remembers incorrect autobiographical events

forgetting

loss of information from long-term memory

misattribution

a memory error in which a person confuses the source of their information; also called source amnesia

misinformation effect paradigm

when a person misremembers an event after being exposed to additional and possibly incorrect information

proactive interference

when existing information prevents a person from recalling new information

retroactive interference

when newer information prevents a person from recalling older information

retrograde amnesia

loss of memory for events that occurred prior to a brain trauma; only events that occur after the trauma can be remembered

transience

a memory error in which memories fade with time; also called storage decay

Elizabeth Loftus

cognitive psychologist who developed the misinformation effect paradigm; challenged the idea that individuals can repress memories of traumatic events from childhood, questioning if those memories are accurate

Schacter's Seven Sins of Memory

transience, absentmindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, persistence

three errors of distortion

misattribution, suggestibility, bias

persistence

inability to forget undesirable memories