Why We Forget Flashcards
What are 5 mechanisms that account for forgetting?
- decay
- replacement
- interference
- cue-dependent forgetting
- repression
Define: decay theory
-memories eventually disappear over time if not accessed
applies better to STM rather than LTM
Define: replacement
-new information entering memory can replace old information
Similar items of information interfering with one another in storage or retrieval is called…
-interference
What are the 2 types of interference?
- retroactive interference
- proactive interference
Define: retroactive interference
-recently learned material interferes with remembering similar material stored previously
Define: proactive interference
-previous learned material interferes with remembering similar material that is more recently learned
When we need to remember we often rely on __________, items of information that can help us find the specific information we are looking for.
-retrieval cues
Define: cue-dependent forgetting
-inability to retrieve information stored in memory due to insufficient cues for recall
Cues in ______ context match those from the ______.
- present
- past
Define: state-dependent memory
-remembering something when in the same physical or mental state as during the original learning or experience
Define: mood-congruent memory
-remembering experiences that are consistent with one’s mood, and ignoring or rejecting memories that are not
Define: amnesia
-partial or complete loss of memory for important personal information
What usually causes “amnesia”?
- brain disease
- head injury
What type of amnesia’s cause for forgetting is psychological?
-psychogenic amnesia
Define: psychogenic amnesia?
- forgetting begins immediately after event
- involves mass memory loss, including loss of identity
- usually lasts up to a few weeks
- one immediately snaps out of it
- very rare
What type of amnesia is highly controversial?
-traumatic amnesia
Define: traumatic amnesia
-burying memory of traumatic events for extended periods of time
-when retrieved many years later, it is recalled perfectly
(supposedly immune to distortion and confabulation)
Where did the notion of traumatic amnesia originate?
- Sigmund Freud’s mechanism of “repression”
- he called it the “involuntary pushing of threatening information into the unconscious”
Why do most people reject the notion of “traumatic amnesia”?
- it lacks empirical evidence
- repression is hard to distinguish from normal forgetting
Reluctance to think about an upsetting event is _______ from the inability to remember it.
-different
Does evidence support “dissociation” as a result of early trauma?
-no
What makes a person’s recollections more trustworthy?
if backed by evidence
- medical records
- school records
- police records
- accounts from other witnesses
Should we be skeptical when a person says they recall memories from the first couple years of life?
-yes, because it is impossible physiologically as well as cognitively
When should we be most skeptical of a recovered traumatic memory?
if it appeared…
- as a result of therapy (can increase confabulation)
- after reading something in the news
- after reading a top selling autobiography about the issue
