Forgetting

Forgetting from:

Short term memory:

• Decay (memeory trace fades)
• Displacement (new material enters limited capacity store)

Long term memory:

• Interference
• Retrieval failure/cue dependent learning
• Motivated forgetting (repression)

Paired associate learning- *** tested on link between two words

Proactive Interference 

• Works forward in time
• Previously stored information interferes with an attempt to recall something new
• Can only remember old information 

Retroactive Interference

• Works backwards in time
• Coding new information disrupts information sotred previously 
• Only remember new information 

Interference is opposite to the name 

Aim: Assess influence of retroactive interference on the memory of street names learned during childhood 

Findings: Positive association between number of time participants moved house outside neighbourhood and number of street names forgotten

Conclusions: Learning new patterns of names makes the recall of old ones harder- retroactive interference is able to explain forgetting in real life situations

Evaluation:    

• there are extraneous variables (not controllable) which may alter results                  
• Methodoloy- possible to conduct research on retroactive intereference in real life settings- mundane realism

Evaluating theory:

• classic experiments were artificial
• modern research shows that interference does affect ability to recall things
• only explain forgetting of similar material

• Information is not lost- we just lack cue/prompt
• Mood can also affect remembering

Context dependent failure- lack of external cues (Abernethy + Godden and Baddeley)

State dependent failure- lack of internal cues (Overton + Darley)

Abernethy:

After learning material, participants recalled it less well to an unfamiliar teacher in an unfamiliar environment - supports contect dependent failure- need external cues

Darley et al:

Participants who hid money when high could not recall where it was when not high, then could remember when high again

Evaluating cue failure:

• Some psychologists think this is the main reason for LTM forgetting- but difficult to test
• idea that 'deep processing' is a good way to learn- creates mulitple cues

Clive Wearing could not form new LTM memories:

• No memory from events of the past
• knew how to do different things
• Could learn how to do things
• Illustrates divide of how to do things and events from the past 

• Concerned with skills e.g. knowing how to tie a shoe lace
• About remembering how to do something rather than knowing the rules of what to so
• Typically acquired through repeitition and practice
• Memory is implicit- less aware of these memories because they have become automatic
• If you try to think too much about procedural memories it prevents you from acting them out- attention disrupts the well-learned, automatic procedure
• Important memories are automatic so we can focus our attention on other tasks while performing these everyday skills
• in the Cerebeilum part of the brain 

• Personal memories of events- includes contextual details plus emotional tone
• Concerned with experiences- e.g. first day of school - can recall the time and place of such events as well as who was there
• can also recall context surrounding the event such as what happened just before or after or why you were there
• May also associate emotions felt at the time

They have three elements:

• Specific details of the event
• The context 
• The emotion

• Shared memories for facts and knowledge
• Memories may be concrete
• Memories may relate:
  • to things such as the functions of objects
  • to what behaviour is apporpriate, such as social customs
  • to abstract concepts, such as mathematics and language

Semantic memories usually being as episodic memories because we acquire memories based on personal experiences

There is a gradual transition from episodic to semantic memories where the memory slowly loses its association to particular events, so the memory can be generalised