Psychology of Memory and Forgetting PDF

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A Brief Summary of the Psychology of Memory and Forgetting....

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Memory and Forgetting

Dab Tek

Table of Contents

I. Abstract------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1

II. Introduction-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2

1. Memory-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3

1.1.

Meaning and Process of Memory-----------------------------------------

3

1.2.

Stages of Memory------------------------------------------------------------

5

1.3.

Factors Affecting Memory---------------------------------------------------

7

2. Forgetting------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9

II.1.

Meaning and Concepts of Forgetting-----------------------------------

9

II.2.

Theories of Forgetting------------------------------------------------------

10

II.3.

Improving Memory---------------------------------------------------------

14

III. Conclusions----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16

IV. Reference------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

17

I.

Abstract

Memory is the processes that is used to acquire, retain, and later retrieve information. The memory process involves three domains: encoding, storage, and retrieval. There are three memory stages: sensory, short-term, and long- term. Information that you come across on a daily basis may move through the three stages of memory. Memory is not a perfect processor, and is affected by many factors. These include: Ability to Retain, Good Health, Age of the, Learner, Maturity, Will to Remember, Intelligence, Interest, Over Learning, Meaningfulness of the Material, Sleep or Rest, etc… Forgetting is failure to retrieve information from long term memory store. Much of the information is lost but enough remains. Theories of Forgetting Psychologists have proposed five mechanisms to account for forgetting: decay, replacement of old memories by new ones, interference, motivated forgetting, and cue dependent forgetting. With training, practice and motivation memory can be improved. There are varieties of mnemonics or memory tricks to remember things better. With training, practice and motivation memory can be improved. There are varieties of mnemonics or memory tricks to remember things better.

II.

Introduction

Memory is one of the important cognitive processes. This paper will discuss about memory and forgetting, what these terms mean, what processes are involved, the theories concerning them and how memory can be affected and improved. Human beings rely on their memory a lot, not only to remember special events or memorize facts that have been learned but also to recall processes and routines executed on a daily basis. “Memory is the internal recording of a prior event.” (Corwin, Elizabeth J. 2008) It lets us know where we are each morning. You could think of memory as a storage house for everything we know. Memory allows us to recall good and bad memories, daily functions, and skills. It is extremely important to pay attention, if we are overwhelmed with information and involved in the anxiety and stress of our daily routines, it will be harder later on to remember information that we need later on. In order to understand the human memory and how it works then we have to understand its functions, how memory is formed, how they are stored and how they are retrieved. Failure at any time to recall an experience, when attempting to do, or to perform an action previously learned is known as forgetting. Many psychologists are interested in process by which forgetting takes place, he researcher who found this field was Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909). There may be some events that we remember very clearly throughout some years and sometimes we are unable to remember things that we do daily or see them. We forget informaion because we do not allow information to be stored in our long-term memory. As brain is complicated part of our body, therefore it would be much harder to study every bit of it, but due to research and development psychologists have came up with many experiments and discoveries.

1. Memory 1.1.

Stages of Memory

Memory is a psychological process that goes beyond remembering important information. Like any senses, including the sense of consciousness, it is a conceptual process that is influenced by our beliefs, anticipations, expectations, and fears. In psychology, memory is defined as the possibility by which behaviors are adapted to human experiences. It can be more clearly defined as a cognitive mental process that stores and saves information, experiences and different situations experienced by man and learns. The memory function restores the required information after a long or short period of time. It is important to note that the concept of memory is more meaningful than the concept of remembering. Memory generally serves to store and recall information. The concept and term of memory can be interpreted according to the field or aspect in which it is used. In physiological and neurological sciences it can be defined as the ability to receive, store, and maintain information and expertise to be recalled and restored when needed. Memory is the processes that is used to acquire, retain, and later retrieve information. The memory process involves three domains: encoding, storage, and retrieval  Encoding is the process of getting information into memory. If information or stimuli never gets encoded, it will never be remembered. Encoding requires paying attention to information and linking it to existing knowledge in order to make the new information meaningful and thus easier to remember. Encoding is the first stage of the memory process. Encoding occurs when information is translated into a form that can be processed mentally. Information from the environment is constantly reaching your senses in the forms of stimuli. Encoding allows you to change the stimuli so that you may put it into your memory. It is similar to librarians classifying books before placing them on a shelf. As librarians encode/label books so patrons to easily locate them, you encode/label information before placing the information into your memory.

Simply receiving sensory input is not sufficient to encode information. You must attend to and process that input. Encoding that information occurs through both automatic processing and effortful processing. Automatic processing occurs without any conscious awareness. It occurs effortlessly, automatically, without you having to think about it. Examples includes details like time, space, frequency, personal experience, and some motor skills learning. You are always encoding the events of your life. Every day you encode events and can remember what happened, at least for a while. For example, you probably can remember what you had for dinner last night, even though you didn’t intentionally try to remember that information. However, other types of information become encoded only if you pay attention to it. For example, you would need to pay attention if someone gave you their telephone number or gave you a list of items to pick up at the store. That types of encoding is effortful processing, since it involves effort. Effortful processing occurs when you consciously try to remember information. It requires special attention, thought, and practice. In other words, you have to put in effort to get the information in to memory. When information comes into your sensory memory, it needs to be changed into a form that can be stored. There are three main ways in which information can be encoded/changed: Visual encoding: Information is represented as a picture Acoustic encoding: Information is represented as sounds Semantic encoding: Information is represented by its meaning to you.  Storage is the retention of information over time. This second stage of the memory process creates a permanent record of the encoded information. It is believed that we can accumulate information in three main storage areas: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Information is stored sequentially in the three memory systems, and the storage areas vary according to time frames. The period of time that information is retained is anywhere from a fraction of a second to years. Sensory memory only stores information for a brief second. Shortterm memory can hold information longer, but it is only usually about 30-45 seconds. Long-term memory, however, can last a lifetime.

 Retrieval is the process of getting information out of memory. The ability to access and retrieve information from memory allows you to use the memories to answer questions, perform tasks, make decisions, and interact with other people. Basically, it is getting information out of your long-term memory and returning it to your conscious mind. There are two main methods of retrieving memories: - recognition, - recall Recognition is the association of something with something previously experienced. It involves comparing new information with information stored in memory. The recognition process is initiated as a response to a sensory cue. When you see something, you compare it to information stored in your memory. Hence, you recognize it. For example, you may go to a party and see a person you recognize from a prior experience. Recall is the retrieval of information from memory without a cue. If a person asks you a question, you must search your memory to recall the answer. It involves remembering a fact, event, or other information that is not currently physically present. For example, you may have to recall the list of items you had on your shopping list.

1.1.

Stages of Memory

There are three memory stages: sensory, short-term, and long- term.Information that you come across on a daily basis may move through the three stages of memory. However, not all information makes its way through all three stages. Most of it is forgotten somewhere along the way. The determination of what information makes its way through the different stages depends on what you pay attention to and process. Information that you pay attention to and process will move to the next stage of memory. However, any information you to do not pay attention to never makes it way to the next stage.  Sensory memory is the first stage of memory. Its purpose is to give your brain time to process the incoming information. Sensory memory is not consciously controlled. You subconsciously and continuously gather information from the environment through your five senses. Sensory memory holds impressions of that sensory information that was received by your

five senses after the original stimulus has stopped. However, it only holds it for a very brief period, generally for no longer than a second. In order for that information to be retained for longer, it has to continue onto short-term memory. Most of the information that gets into sensory memory is forgotten. It never makes its way into the second stage of memory because it was never attended to. To get information into short-term memory, you need to attend to it – meaning consciously paying attention to it. Iconic memory is the visual sensory memory that holds the mental representation of your visual stimuli. Echoic memory is the auditory sensory memory that hold information that you hear. Haptic memory is the tactile sensory memory that holds information from your sense of feeling.  Short-term Memory (STM) is also known as working or active memory. It holds the information you are currently thinking about. This information will quickly be forgotten unless you make a conscious effort to retain it. Like sensory memory, short-term memory holds information temporarily, pending further processing. However, unlike sensory memory which holds the complete image received by your senses, short-term memory only stores your interpretation of the image. As indicated above, information in short-term memory is not stored permanently. Information passes from sensory memory into short-term memory, where again it is held for only a short period of time. Most of the information stored in short-term memory will only be kept for approximately 20 to 45 seconds. While many of your short-term memories are quickly forgotten, paying attention to the information and processing (encoding) it allows it to continue into long-term memory. Just as sensory memory is a necessary step for short-term memory, short-term memory is a necessary step toward the next stage of retention, long-term memory. Processing or encoding includes making judgments and assessments about meaning, relevance, and significance of that information. It also includes the mental activities needed to move selected portions of the information into long-term memory. If encoding never happens, the information never gets into long-term memory. The reason a person forgets the name of someone to whom he or she has just been introduced to is because the name often was never encoded and transferred from short-term to long-term memory. Short-term memory not only has a limited time, it also has a limited capacity. It is believed to only hold a few items. Research shows the number is around 7 +/- 2 items. For example, if a person is asked to listen to a series of 20 names, he or she normally retains only about seven names. Typically, it is either the first few or last few. The reason is because if you focuses on the first few items, your STM

becomes saturated, and you cannot concentrate on and recall the last series of items. People are able to retain more information using memory techniques such as chunking or rehearsal.  Long-term memory (LTM) refers to the storage of information over an extended period. It is all the memories you hold for periods longer than a few seconds. The information can last in your long-term memory for hours, days, months, or even years. Although you may forget some information after you learn it, other things will stay with you forever. Some information retained in STM is processed or encoded into long-term memory. This information is filed away in your mind and must be retrieved before it can be used. Some of the information in your LTM is easy to recall, while other memories are much more difficult to retrieve. Unlike short-term memory, long-term memory has seemingly unlimited capacity. You may remember numerous facts and figures, as well as episodes in your life from years ago. There are two main types of long-term memory: explicit memory and implicit memory. Explicit memory are those experiences that can be intentionally and consciously remembered. It is knowledge or experience that can be consciously remembered such as facts, data, episodes, or events. Explicit memory can be further sub-categorized as either episodic or semantic memories. Episodic memory refers to the firsthand experiences that you have had (e.g. episodes or events in your life). For example, you may remember your 16th birthday party or your first soccer game. Semantic memory refers to knowledge of facts and concepts about the world. For example, you may remember the names of presidents of Ethiopia or how to multiply two numbers. Implicit memory refers to knowledge that we cannot consciously access. It is remembering without awareness. For example, you may remember how to ride a bike or walk, but it is difficult to explain how you do it.

1.2.

Factors Affecting Memory

Memory is not a perfect processor, and is affected by many factors. The ways by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved can all be corrupted. The amount of attention given new stimuli can diminish the amount of information that becomes encoded for storage. Also, the storage process can become corrupted by physical damage to areas of the brain that are associated with memory storage, such as the hippocampus. Finally, the retrieval of information from long-term memory can be disrupted because of decay within long-term memory. Normal

functioning, decay over time, and brain damage all affect the accuracy and capacity of the memory. Let us examine factors which influence our memory process: Ability to Retain: this depends upon the good memory traces left in the brain by past experiences. Good Health: A person with good health can retain the learnt material better than a person with poor health. Age of the Learner: Youngsters can remember better than the aged. Maturity: very young children cannot retain and remember complex material. Will to Remember: Willingness to remember helps for better retention. Intelligence: More intelligent person will have better memory than a dull person. Interest: If a person has more interest, he will learn and retain better. Over Learning: Experiments has proved that over learning will lead to better memory. Speed of Learning: Quicker learning leads to better retention. Meaningfulness of the Material: Meaningful materials remain in our memory for longer period than for nonsense material. Sleep or Rest: Sleep or rest immediately after learning strengthens connections in the brain and helps for clear memory.

2. Forgetting 2.1 Meaning and concept of forgetting Psychologists generally use the term forgetting to refer to the apparent loss of information already encoded and stored in the long-term memory. The first attempts to study forgetting were made by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885/1913). We often fail to remember due to brain damage, resulting in loss of memory functions, called amnesia. But people do forget in the normal course of life. In fact remembering and forgetting are both natural processes subject to a number of factors that operate in everybody’s life our memory is constantly retrieving information but we are not usually aware of it; it is just forgetting that draws our attention (Ruiz-Vargas, 2010). Many definitions were given to the term ‘forgetting’; personally I find Tulving’s definition the most plausible. Endel Tulving defined the term forgetting as “the inability to retrieve at present any information which was successfully retrieved in a previous occasion” (Tulving, 1974). In other words, forgetting refers to the loss of information or the inability to access previously encoded information within memory Forgetting is failure to retrieve information from long term memory store. Much of the information is lost but enough remains, so that we have sketchy record of our lives. Sometimes what we think is forgotten in real sense is not forgotten because it was never encoded and stored in the first place. Many students complain that they do not remember the contents after attending the class or forget after reading .the text. This happens due to lack of attention, some information does not reach short term memory from the sensory register or An inability to retrieve information due to poor encoding, storage, or retrieval due to inadequate encoding and rehearsal, the information may not have been transferred from short term to long term memory. Information was not stored in long term memory because rehearsal was not sufficiently elaborate. Many times we forget as memory does not match events which had occurred. This happens due to the constructive processes i.e. during encoding, the to-be-remembered information, especially if it is a complex life event or something you have read, is modified. Certain details are accentuated, the material may be simplified, or it may be changed in many other ways so that

what is encoded and stored is far from a literal copy of the input. Constructive processes of encoding distorts which stored in the memory .and distortions are remembered. We remember the gist, or meaning of what we have re...