Forgetting

Agenda 1. Bell Ringer: What are the types of Memory? 2. Notes: Forgetting (25) 3. What is on a Penny? Activity (10) 4. Deception, can you describe him? (10) 5. The Seven Sins of Memory, Group Explanation (20)

An inability to retrieve information due to: Forgetting An inability to retrieve information due to: Encoding failure Storage decay Retrieval failure Motivated forgetting

Forgetting Encoding failure

If you don’t use what you learn you will forget it. Ex. 2nd languages need to be practiced or you will forget a lot of it. Forgetting curve: after a while you what is left in your memory for that 2nd language will be remembered.

Storage Decay

Storage Decay OBJECTIVE 20| Discuss the concept of storage decay, and describe Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve. 8

Tip-of-the-tongue Phenomenon Retrieval Failure Tip-of-the-tongue Phenomenon

Cues: Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: can’t quite put your finger on it. Can’t retrieve. Interference: learning sometimes may prevent retrieving information especially when the information is similar. Proactive interference: something we learned earlier disrupts recall of something experienced later (ex. You have a new phone number but you keep remembering the old one) Retroactive interference: disruptive effect of new learning on recall of old info. (ex. Try and remember an old address)

Retrieval Failure Interference Retro Pro Old New

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

Schacter’s 7 Sins of Memory Three Sins of Forgetting Absent-mindedness: inattention to details leads to encoding failure Transience: storage decay over time Blocking: inaccessibility of stored info (tip-of-the-tongue)

Schacter’s 7 Sins of Memory Three Sins of Distortion Misattribution: confusing the source of information learned. (putting words in someone else’s mouth, confusing a movie with a personal memory) Suggestibility: leading questions/suggestions from others. Bias: beliefs that impact our memories

Example of misinformation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSzPn9rsPcY&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Schacter’s 7 Sins of Memory Intrusion Persistence: haunted by memories

Motivated Forgetting Motivated Forgetting: People unknowingly revise their memories. Repression: A defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness. OBJECTIVE 22| Summarize Freud's concept of repression, and state whether this view is reflected in current memory research. Sigmund Freud 19

Confabulation – by Elizabeth Loftus Filling in the gaps of memory by combining or substituting memories from other events.

Elizabeth Loftus Misinfo & Imagination Misinformation Effect: incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event. Imagination: creating false memories through nonexistent actions.

Elizabeth Loftus Misinformation Group A: How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other? Group B: How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?

Memory Construction Confabulation A week later they were asked: Was there any broken glass? Group B (smashed into) reported more broken glass than Group A (hit).

(AKA: Source Misattribution or Misattribution Error) Source Amnesia Attributing an event to the wrong source that we experienced, heard, read, or imagined. (AKA: Source Misattribution or Misattribution Error) OBJECTIVE 24| Describe source amnesia’s contributions to false memories.

True & False Memories False Memory Syndrome A condition in which a person’s identity and relationships center around a false but strongly believed memory of a traumatic experience, which is sometimes induced by well-meaning therapists. OBJECTIVE 24| Describe source amnesia’s contributions to false memories. 25

Children’s Eyewitness Recall Children’s eyewitness recall can be unreliable if leading questions are posed. However, if cognitive interviews are neutrally worded, the accuracy of their recall increases. In cases of sexual abuse, this usually suggests a lower percentage of abuse. OBJECTIVE 26| Give arguments supporting and rejecting the position that very young children's reports are reliable.

Are memories of abuse repressed or constructed? Many psychotherapists believe that early childhood sexual abuse results in repressed memories. However, other psychologists question such beliefs and think that such memories may be constructed. OBJECTIVE 27| Discuss the controversy over reports of repressed and recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse.

Consensus on Childhood Abuse Leading psychological associations of the world agree on the following concerning childhood sexual abuse: Injustice happens. Incest and other sexual abuse happens. People may forget. Recovered memories are commonplace. Recovered memories under hypnosis or drugs are unreliable. Memories of things happening before 3 years of age are unreliable. Memories, whether real or false, are emotionally upsetting.

Improving Memory Study repeatedly to boost long-term recall. Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material. Make material personally meaningful. Use mnemonic devices: associate with peg words — something already stored make up a story chunk — acronyms OBJECTIVE 28| Explain how an understanding of memory can contribute to effective study techniques.

Improving Memory Activate retrieval cues — mentally recreate the situation and mood. Recall events while they are fresh — before you encounter misinformation. Minimize interference: Test your own knowledge. Rehearse and then determine what you do not yet know.