Module 25: Forgetting, Memory Construction, and Improving Memory Flashcards
What are the causes of forgetting?
Encoding failure, Storage decay, Retrieval failure, Interference, Motivated forgetting
Encoding failure
Age: Encoding lag is linked to age-related memory decline
Attention: Failure to notice or encode contributes to memory failure
Storage decay
Course of forgetting is initially rapid but then levels off with time. Physical changes in the brain occur as memories form (memory trace)
Retrieval failure
Events/memories may not be available because they were never required.
Memories may have been distracted due to stored memory decay.
Insufficient information to access memories may put them out of reach.
interference
other information that prevents you from remembering
proactive interference
older memories make it more difficult to remember new information
retroactive interference
new learning disrupts memory for older information
motivated forgetting
freud: repressed memories protect a person’s self-concept and minimize anxiety
today: attempts to forget are more likely when information is neutral, not emotional
misinformation effect
a memory is corrupted by misleading information (common in testimonies)
imagination effect
repeatedly imagining fake actions and events can create false memories.
source amnesia (source misattribution)
faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagine
deja vu
cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience “I’ve experienced this before”
SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Retrieve, Review) incorporates what learning strategies?
▪ Rehearse repeatedly
▪ Make the material meaningful
▪ Activate retrieval cues
▪ Use mnemonic devices
▪ Minimize interference
▪ Sleep more
▪ Test your own knowledge, both to rehearse it and to
find out what you do not yet know
retrograde amnesia
can’t remember past events
anterograde amnesia
can’t remember new information
