Module 25

Question 1

forgetting

Answer 1

the inability to access previously stored info

Question 2

forgetting curve

Answer 2

result of Hermann Ebbinnhaus testing himself and his own memory
shows the difference between massed practice and distributed

the more times he studied the list one day, the less he had to study the next day (didn’t forget all of the info)
shows importance of relearning and overlearning

as rehearsal time increases, relearning time decreases

Question 3

encoding failure

Answer 3

fail to encode sufficient info
only focus on what’s necessary– why we forget
you don’t pay attention to certain info to save cognitive energy

Question 4

motivated forgetting

Answer 4

belief by Freud– we don’t want to remember things that cause/remind us of pain and trauma
so we consciously forget them (painful and unwanted memories)

or unconscious forgetting (repression) (brain buries traumatic memories to protect itself)

the information is still there, but there is a different and difficult retrieval process involved

Question 5

suppression

Answer 5

consciously forgetting painful memories, pushing unwanted memories out of awareness (part of motivated forgetting)

Question 6

Thorndike’s law of Disuse

Answer 6

over time, memories (LTM) not often retrieved or used will eventually decay and be forgotten

behaviorism and learning
still able to retrieve info- just harder

Question 7

decay theory

Answer 7

fading/weaking of engram due to time

Question 8

interference theory

Answer 8

things/thoughts/tasks/interruption get in the way of remembering

retroactive and proactive

Question 9

retroactive

Answer 9

old info is interfered by new info

Question 10

proactive

Answer 10

new info is interfered by old info

Question 11

Amnesia

Answer 11

memory loss
two types: retrograde and anterograde

Question 12

retrograde amnesia

Answer 12

loss of old memories

Question 13

anterograde amnesia

Answer 13

loss of new long-term memory

Question 14

retrieval failure

Answer 14

atypical brain function from diseases (Alzheimer’s, other dementias), retrograde amnesia, and anterograde amnesia, cue dependent forgetting (using 5 senses like smell, taste, touch to try to bring memory back)