Forgetting & Memory Distortion

1. Forgetting & Memory Distortion 2/16/11

2. Agenda • Writing Assignment is posted on course website • Evaluations • Forgetting • Learning Objective: List and explain the seven sins of memory • Memory Distortions • Learning Objective: Describe how memories can be distorted • Improving Memory • Learning Objective: Describe how we can use scientific knowledge about memory to improve memory • Return Tests

3. Why do we forget? • Forgetting: Inability to retrieve memories from long term storage • Most people forget things on a daily basis • We forget more than we remember • Forgetting is adaptive • We don’t want information overload • We need to only remember most important info

4. Common Types of Forgetting • Transience: Reduced memory over time • Examples? • Proactive interference – old information interferes with new information • Retroactive interference – new information interferes with old information

5. Common Types of Forgetting • Blocking: Reduced memory (temporary) for needed info that one knows • Examples? • Usually results from interference of similar words or meanings • Absentmindedness: Reduced memory due to lack of attention • Examples? • Usually results from shallow encoding (i.e. not processing things deeply)

6. Flashbulb Memories • Vivid memories for the circumstances in which one first learned of a surprising, consequential, and emotionally arousing event • Do you remember where you were when you heard…? • Not always accurate • Just as accurate as other memories

7. Main Types of Distortion • Misattribution: Assign memory to wrong source • Suggestibility & Misinformation: Alter memory because of misleading info • Bias: Current knowledge influences memory for past events

8. How can we improve memory? • Practice, Elaborate, & Overlearn • Sleep • Verbal Mnemonics • Visual Imagery

9. Summary • Forgetting is the inability to pull something from long-term memory • Different types of forgetting include transience, absentmindedness, blocking • Sometimes, we distort or create false memories, which lead to unreliable eyewitness testimonies • There are ways to help us improve our memory.

10. For Next Time… • Read pgs. 235-249 • Writing Assignment due next Monday at 11:05AM