Psychology
We sometimes remember people whom we met years ago, but seem to forget what we learned in a course shortly after we take the final exam. What is even worse is forgetting it right before we take the test. Why do we so easily and quickly forget phone numbers we have just looked up? These are, but a few of the instances and questions that have intrigued cognitive psychologists the world over and further motivated their investigation in the area of forgetting. They have sort to find out why.
Forgetting (retention loss) refers to apparent loss of information already encoded and stored in an individual 's long term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old memories are unable to be recalled from memory storage. Other psychologists have also defined forgetting. Munn (1967) defines it as the temporary or permanent loss of the ability to recall or recognize something learned earlier. Drever (1952) also defined forgetting as the failure at any time to recall an experience when attempting to do so or to perform an action previously learned.
Memory performance is usually related to the active functioning of three stages. These three stages are encoding, storage and retrieval. Encoding is the way an item or information is stored in the memory. It is subject to delicately balanced optimization that ensures that relevant memories are recalled. Storage refers to how you retain encoded information in memory. Retrieval refers to how you gain access to information stored in memory. Encoding, storage and retrieval are often viewed as sequential stages. That is, you first take in the information, then you hold it for a while, and then you later pull it out. The focus of this discussion will however be on retrieval. Many different factors influence the actual process of forgetting. An example could be the amount of time the new information is stored in the memory. The amount of time the information is stored in the memory, depending on the minutes hours or even
Forgetting (retention loss) refers to apparent loss of information already encoded and stored in an individual 's long term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old memories are unable to be recalled from memory storage. Other psychologists have also defined forgetting. Munn (1967) defines it as the temporary or permanent loss of the ability to recall or recognize something learned earlier. Drever (1952) also defined forgetting as the failure at any time to recall an experience when attempting to do so or to perform an action previously learned.
Memory performance is usually related to the active functioning of three stages. These three stages are encoding, storage and retrieval. Encoding is the way an item or information is stored in the memory. It is subject to delicately balanced optimization that ensures that relevant memories are recalled. Storage refers to how you retain encoded information in memory. Retrieval refers to how you gain access to information stored in memory. Encoding, storage and retrieval are often viewed as sequential stages. That is, you first take in the information, then you hold it for a while, and then you later pull it out. The focus of this discussion will however be on retrieval. Many different factors influence the actual process of forgetting. An example could be the amount of time the new information is stored in the memory. The amount of time the information is stored in the memory, depending on the minutes hours or even
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