CHAPTER FOUR

MEMORY AND FORGETTING

 4.1 Memory

• 5.1.1 Meaning and Processes of Memory

• Memory is the retention of information/what is

learned earlier over time.
• It is the way in which we record the past for later use
in the present.
• To learn about the nature of memory, it is useful to
separate the process from the structure.
• Processes of Memory

• Memory processes are the mental activities we

perform
 to put information into memory,

 to keep it there, and

 to make use of it later.

• This involves three basic steps:

• A. Encoding: refers to the form (i.e. the code) in
which an item of information is to be placed in
memory.
• It is the process by which information is initially
recorded in a form usable to memory.
• In encoding we transform a sensory input into a form
or a memory code that can be further processed.
• B. Storage: To be remembered the encoded
experience must leave some record in the nervous
system (the memory trace).
• It is the location in memory system in which material
is saved.
• Storage is the persistence of information in memory.
• C. Retrieval: is the point at which one tries to
remember to dredge up a particular memory trace
from among all the others we have stored.
• In retrieval, material in memory storage is located,
brought into awareness and used.
• Memory is the process by which information is
encoded (phase1), stored (phase 2) and later
retrieved (phase 3).
 4.1.2 Stages/Structure of Memory

• Memory structure is the nature of memory storage

itself-
 how information is represented in memory and

 how long it lasts and

 how it is organized.
• According to Atkinson and Shiffrin, memory has
three structures:
• 1. Sensory Memory/Sensory Register: It is the entry
way to memory.
• It is the first information storage area.

• Sensory memory acts as a holding bin, retaining

information until we can select items for attention
from the stream of stimuli bombarding our senses.
• It can hold all the information reaching our senses
for a brief time.
• visual images (Iconic memory) remain in the visual
system for a maximum of one second.
• Auditory images (Echoic memory) remain in the
auditory system up to two second or so.
• The information stored sensory in memory is
accurate representation of the environmental
information but unprocessed.
• the information that has got attention and
recognition pass on short-term memory for further
processing.
• Most information briefly held in the sensory memory
simply decays from the register.
• 2. Short-term Memory: part of our memory that
holds the contents of our attention.
• short-term memories are not brief replicas of the
environmental message.
• Instead, they consist of the by-products or end
results of perceptual analysis.
• STM is important in a variety of tasks such as
thinking, reading, speaking, and problem solving.
• There are various terms used to refer to memory,
including working memory, immediate memory,
active memory, and primary memory.
• Short term memory is distinguished by four
characteristics:
• It is active- is consciously processing, examining, or
manipulating it.
• People use STM as a “workspace” to process new
information and to call up relevant information from
LTM.
• Rapid accessibility - Information in STM is readily
available for use.
• Preserves the temporal sequence of information-
STM usually helps us to maintain the information in
sequential manner for a temporary period of time.
• It keeps the information fresh until it goes to further
analysis and stored in LTM in meaningful way.
• Limited capacity: the capacity of STM to be “the
magic number seven plus or minus two (7±2)”.
• we overcome this problem, by grouping small groups
of information into larger units or chunks.
• Chunking is the grouping or “packing” of information
into higher order units that can be remembered as
single units.
• A chunk may be a word, a phrase, a sentence, or
even a visual image, and it depends on previous
experience.
• STM memory holds information received from SM
for up to about 30 seconds.
• It is possible to prolong STM indefinitely by
rehearsal- the conscious repetition of information.
• Material in STM is easily displaced unless we do
something to keep it there.
3. Long Term Memory: is a memory system used for
the relatively permanent storage of meaningful
information.
• The capacity of LTM seems to have no practical
limits.
• LTM stores information for indefinite periods.
• The LTM is assumed to be composed of different sub
systems:
• Declarative/ explicit memory: the conscious
recollection of information such as specific facts or
events that can be verbally communicated.
• It is further subdivided into semantic and episodic
memories.
• Semantic memory: factual knowledge like the
meaning of words, concepts and our ability to do
math.
• Episodic memory: memories for events and
situations from personal experience.
• Non-declarative/ implicit memory: refers to a
variety of phenomena of memory in which behavior
is affected by prior experience without that
experience being consciously recollected.
• One of the most important kinds of implicit memory
is procedural memory. It is the “how to” knowledge
of procedures or skills: Knowing how to comb your
hair, use a pencil, or swim.
 Serial Position Effect
• The three-box model of memory is often invoked to
explain interesting phenomenon called the serial
position effect.
• If you are shown a list of items and are then asked
immediately to recall them, your retention of any
particular item will depend on its position in the list.
• recall will be best for items at the beginning of the
list (the primacy effect) and at the end of the list (the
recency effect).
• When retention of all the items is plotted, the result
will be a U-shaped curve.
• the first few items on a list are remembered well
because short-term memory was relatively “empty”
when they entered, so these items did not have to
compete with others to make it into long term
memory.
• The last few items are remembered for a different
reason: At the time of recall, they are still sitting in
STM.
• The items in the middle of the list, however, are not
so well retained because by the time they get into
short-term memory, it is already crowded.
• As a result many of these items drop out of short-
term memory before they can be stored in long-term
memory.
 5.1.3 Factors Affecting Memory

• Eleven Factors that Influence Memory Process in

Humans are as follows:

a. Ability to retain: This depends upon good memory

traces left in the brain by past experiences.

b. Good health: A person with good health can retain

the learnt material better than a person with poor
health.
c. Age of the learner: Youngsters can remember better
than the aged.

d. Maturity: Very young children cannot retain and

remember complex material.

e. Will to remember: Willingness to remember helps

for better retention.

f. Intelligence: More intelligent person will have better

memory than a dull person,
• g. Interest: If a person has more interest, he will
learn and retain better.
• h. Over learning: Experiments have proved that over
learning will lead to better memory.
• i. Speed of learning: Quicker learning leads to better
retention,
• j. Meaningfulness of the material: Meaningful
materials remain in our memory for longer period
than for nonsense material,
• k. Sleep or rest: Sleep or rest immediately after
learning strengthens connections in the brain and
helps for clear memory.
 5.2 Forgetting

• 5.2.1 Meaning and Concepts of Forgetting

• Forgetting refer to the apparent loss of information

already encoded and stored in the long-term
memory.
• We are selective in storing and forgetting
information.
• Sometimes we are motivated to forgot something
and recall what we want to remember.
• Psychologists call this phenomenon as Motivated
Forgetting
• The first attempts to study forgetting were made by
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus
(1885/1913).
• Using himself as his only subject, he memorized lists
of three letter non-sense syllables- meaningless sets
of two consonants with a vowel in between, such as
FIW and BOZ.
• By measuring how easy it was to relearn a given list
of words after varying periods of time from initial
learning had passed, he found that forgetting
occurred systematically.
• The most rapid forgetting occurs in the first hours.

• After nine hours, the rate of forgetting slows and

declines little, even after the passage of many days.
• Ebbinghaus‘s basic conclusions are:

• There is almost always a strong initial decline in

memory, followed by a more gradual drop over time.
• Relearning of previously mastered material is almost
always faster than starting from a scratch, whether
the material is academic information or a motor skill.
 5.2.2. Theories of Forgetting

• Psychologists have proposed five mechanisms to account

for forgetting:
• 5.2.2.1.The Decay Theory

• The decay theory holds that memory traces or engram

fade with time if they are not “accessed” now and then.
• This explanation assumes that when new material is
learned a memory trace or engram- an actual physical
change in the brain- occurs.
• In decay, the trace simply fades away with nothing
left behind, because of the passage of time.
• We have already seen that decay occurs in sensory
memory and that it occurs in short term memory as
well, unless we rehearse the material.
• 5.2.2.2. Interference

• Interference theory holds that forgetting occurs because

similar items of information interfere with one another
in either storage or retrieval.
• There are two kinds of interference:

• Proactive Interference, information learned earlier

interferes with recall of newer material.
• Retroactive Interference If new information interferes
with the ability to remember old information.
5.2.2.3. New Memory for Old/ Displacement Theory
• This theory holds that new information entering
memory can wipe out old information.
• This theory is mostly associated with the STM, where
the capacity for information is limited to seven plus
or minus five.
• It cannot be associated with the LTM because of its
virtually unlimited capacity.
5.2.2.4. Motivated Forgetting
• Sigmund Freud maintained that people forget
because they block from consciousness those
memories that are too threatening or painful to live
with, and he called this self-protective process
Repression.
• Today many psychologists prefer to use a more
general term, motivated forgetting.
5.2.2.5. Cue Dependent Forgetting
• Often when we need to remember, we rely on
retrieval cues, items of information that can help us
find the specific information we‘re looking for.
• When we lack retrieval cues, we may feel as if we
have lost the call number for an entry in the mind‘s
library.
• In long-term memory, this type of memory failure
may be the most common type of all.
• That may explain why remembering is often
easier when you are in the same physical
environment as you were when an event
occurred.
• Your mental or physical state may also act as a
retrieval cue, evoking a state dependent
memory.
• 5.3. Improving Memory
• To improve our memories we rely on mental
strategies.
• Some simple mnemonics can be useful.

• Some general guidelines:

• Pay Attention: It seems obvious, but often we fail to

remember because we never encoded the information in
the first place.
• When you do have something to remember, you will do
better if you encode it.
• Encode information in more than one way: The more
elaborate the encoding of information, the more
memorable it will be
• Add meaning: The more meaningful the material, the
more likely it is to link up with information already in
long-term memory.
• Take your time: If possible, minimize interference by
using study breaks for rest or recreation. Sleep is the
ultimate way to reduce interference.
• Over learn: Studying information even after you
think you already know it- is one of the best ways to
ensure that you‘ll remember it.
• Monitor your learning: By testing yourself
frequently, rehearsing thoroughly, and reviewing
periodically, you will have a better idea of how you
are doing.