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The Importance of Forgetting: Understanding Memory Failures

Explore the complexities of memory failures such as encoding, storage decay, retrieval failure, interference, and motivated forgetting. Uncover how our memory system works and why forgetting is sometimes beneficial. Discover the mechanisms behind memory lapses and the impact on our daily lives.

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The Importance of Forgetting: Understanding Memory Failures

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  1. ForgettingChapter 8, Lecture 5 “A good memory is helpful, but so is the ability to forget. If a memory-enhancing pill becomes available, it had better not be too effective.” - David Myers

  2. Forgetting An inability to retrieve information due to poor encoding, storage, or retrieval.

  3. Encoding Failure We cannot remember what we do not encode. Some common examples of encoding failure???

  4. Storage Decay Poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay. Ebbinghaus showed this with his forgetting curve.

  5. Retaining Spanish Bahrick (1984) showed a similar pattern of forgetting and retaining over 50 years.

  6. Retrieval Failure Although the information is retained in the memory store, it cannot be accessed. Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) is a retrieval failure phenomenon. Given a cue (What makes blood cells red?) the subject says the word begins with an H (hemoglobin).

  7. Proactive Interference Learning some new information may disrupt retrieval of other information (proactive interference)

  8. Retroactive Interference Sleep prevents retroactive interference. Therefore, it leads to better recall.

  9. Confusing Terms – Answer in your journal: Suppose that one night you spend an hour studying Latin, then an hour studying English. In being tested the next day, how would (a) retroactive interference and (b) proactive interference come about in this example? If tested on Latin the next day, the English would retroactively interfere with your Latin retrieval. If tested on English the next day, the Latin would proactively interfere with your English retrieval.

  10. Motivated Forgetting Motivated Forgetting:People unknowingly revise their memories. Repression:Adefense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. Culver Pictures Sigmund Freud

  11. Why do we forget? Forgetting can occur at any memory stage. We filter, alter, or lose much information during these stages. p.355

  12. Homework Read p.356-364 “…increasing numbers of memory researchers think repression rarely, if ever, occurs… we may have intrusive memories of the very traumatic experiences we would most like to forget.” - David Myers

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