Chapter 7 - Forgetting

Question 1

Define forgetting.

Answer 1

Forgetting refers to the inability to retrieve previosuly stored information.

Question 2

What does the forgetting curve show?

Answer 2

The forgetting curve shows that the rate and amount of forgetting that occurs over time. Generally, the graph shows that forgetting is rapid soon after the original learning, then the rate of memory loss gradually declines, followed by stability in the memories that remain.

Question 3

What happens to the forgetting curve when information is learned over an extended period of time?

Answer 3

More information is retained, but the rate at which information is lost remains the same.

Question 4

What other factors influence the forgetting curve?

Answer 4

If information is more meaningful, the rate of forgetting will be slower. The amount and rate of forgetting are also influenced by how well the information was initially encoded. The better the initial learning, the longer the material is likely to be retained.

Question 5

In what way(s) is forgetting from both STM (or working memory) and LTM adaptive?

Answer 5

There would be a reduction in everyday functioning if information were to clutter conscious awareness, as well as a loss of efficiency in retrieval. There is a lack of necessity to remember everything in order to cope effectively with living independently in everyday life.

Question 6

What are the three main kinds of measures of retention?

Answer 6

Recall, recognition and learning.

Question 7

What does the process of recall involve?

Answer 7

Recall involves being asked to reproduce information with the fewest possible cues to assist retrieval.

Question 8

What does free recall involve?

Answer 8

Free recall involves participants simply being asked to remember as much information as they can in no particular order, as opposed to serial recall.

Question 9

What is cued recall?

Answer 9

Cued recall makes use of more specific cues to aid retrieval.

Question 10

What is recognition?

Answer 10

Recognition involves identifying the correct information from among alternatives. It is a more sensitive measure of memory than recall.

Question 11

What is relearning?

Answer 11

Relearning, also known as the method of savings, involves learning information again that has been previously learned and stored in LTM.

Question 12

What does sensitivity refer to in terms of a measure of retention?

Answer 12

The sensitivity of a measure of retention refers to its ability to assess the amount of information that has been stored in memory.

Question 13

What are the four main theories of forgetting?

Answer 13

• Retrieval Failure Theory
• Interference Theory
• Motivated Forgetting
• Decay Theory

Question 14

According to retrieval failure theory, why do we forget?

Answer 14

We sometimes forget because we lack or fail to use the right retrieval cues to retrieve information stored in memory. This is why it is sometimes referred to as cue-dependent forgetting.

Question 15

What is a retrieval cue?

Answer 15

Any stimulus that assists the process of locating and recovering information stored in memory.

Question 16

What is tip-of-the-tongue?

Answer 16

The tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon is a state or ‘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?

Question 17

Why is TOT thought to involve a partial retrieval process?

Answer 17

We seem to have some information about what we are searching for, suggesting that TOT involves a partial retrieval process in which bits of information can act as retrieval cues for the required information.

Question 18

What aspects does TOT illustrate about the retrieval process?

Answer 18

Retrieval is not an all or nothing process. Information is stored in LTM but is not accessible without the right retrieval cue. TOT also shows that information stored in LTM is organised and connected logically.

Question 19

What is interference theory?

Answer 19

Interference theory proposes that forgetting in LTM occurs because other memories interfere with the retrieval of what we are trying to recall, particularly if the other memories are similar.

Question 20

What are the two kinds of interference?

Answer 20

Retroactive interference and proactive interference.

Question 21

What is retroactive interference?

Answer 21

When new information interferes with the ability to remember old information.

Question 22

What is proactive interference?

Answer 22

When old information interferes with the ability to remember new information.

Question 23

What is motivated forgetting?

Answer 23

Forgetting that arises from a strong motive or desire to forget, usually because the experience is too disturbing or upsetting to remember.

Question 24

What does repression involve?

Answer 24

Repression involves unconsciously blocking a memory of an event or experience from entering conscious awareness.

Question 25

What does suppression involve?

Answer 25

Suppression involves being motivated to forget an event or experience by making a deliberate conscious effort to keep it out of conscious awareness.

Question 26

What is decay theory based on?

Answer 26

Decay theory is based on an assumption that when something new is learned, a physical or chemical memory trace containing stored information is formed in the brain as information is consolidated in LTM.

Question 27

Why does forgetting occur according to decay theory?

Answer 27

According to decay theory, forgetting occurs because a memory (or the memory trace) fades through disuse as time passes, unless it is reactivated by being used occassionally.

Question 28

How is decay theory significant?

Answer 28

It is a widely accepted theory of forgetting and possibly the earliest, and offers an explanation of forgetting in physiological terms.