Reasons For Forgetting Flashcards
Displacement Theory
This is the theory that information being held in the STM is being pushed out by new information because STM has limited capacity.
This links to Jacobs study on STM which concluded that individuals can store 7+/-2 pieces of information at once.
However, this theory does not take into account certain things such as flashbulbs memories.
Trace Decay
Hebb
This is the theory that if you do not do something with a piece of information you will begin to forget and the information will decay.
Further, memory traces in the brain will fade over time through lack of use and eventually become unavailable.
This is supported by Hebb (1949) who found that during the process of learning we form an ‘engram’ - an active trace that can be formed into a permanent structural trace.
However, this theory does not take into account flashbulbs memories, muscle memories or bad/embarrassing memories which suggests that in real life rehearsal is not necessary to remember something.
Additionally, decay theory has difficulty explaining how many people can remember events that happened several years ago clearly, even though they haven”t thought about them since.
An application of this theory is that students should rehearse information in order to create a structural trace in preparation for exams. This would assist in them not forgetting essential information and doing better on exams.
Cue Dependency
Another theory is cue dependency which states that after being presented the right cues, memories can be triggered.
This links to Tulving who suggested that it is the initial encoding of a word which determine whether or not we will later recall it.
State dependent cues are based on the physical or psychological state of the person when information is encoded and retrieved.
An application of this is that students should revise in the same conditions that they will sit their exams in and as a results the they are more likely to recall what they revises in the similar setting.
Interference
Retroactive interference is when later learning interferes with earlier learning, new memories disrupt older ones.
Proactive interference is when what we already know interferes with what we are currently learning.
An implication of this is that students who are studying similar subjects at the same time for example two different languages then they are more likely to get confused between the two.
Brain damage
Can affect memories in different ways.
hippocampus can be damaged.
clive wering
man with hypocampus remoed beleives he is forever in his 20s no ability to make new memories.
