University:
California State University, Northridge
Course:
PSY 321/L | Research Methods in Psychology and Lab
Academic year:

2019
Views:

241

Pages:

3
Author:

folclord7m

Forgetting “I’ve a grand memory for forgetting,” quipped Robert Louis Stevenson. Forgetting refers to loss of information from long-term memory. We all forget things, like a loved one’s birthday, someone’s name, or where we put our car keys. As you’ve come to see, memory is fragile, and forgetting can be frustrating and even embarrassing. But why do we forget? To answer this question, we will look at several perspectives on forgetting. Encoding Failure Sometimes memory loss happens before the actual memory process begins, which is encoding failure. We can’t remember something if we never stored it in our memory in the ﬁrst place. This would be like trying to ﬁnd a book on your e-reader that you never actually purchased and downloaded. Often, in order to remember something, we must pay attention to the details and actively work to process the information (effortful encoding). Lots of times we don’t do this. For instance, think of how many times in your life you’ve seen a penny. Can you accurately recall what the front of a U.S. penny looks like? When researchers Raymond Nickerson and Marilyn Adams (1979) asked this question, they found that most Americans don’t know which one it is. The reason is most likely encoding failure. Most of us never encode the details of the penny. We only encode enough information to be able to distinguish it from other coins. If we don’t encode the information, then it’s not in our long-term memory, so we will not be able to remember it. Figure 8.14 Can you tell which coin, (a), (b), (c), or (d) is the accurate depiction of a US nickel? The correct answer is (c). Memory Errors Psychologist Daniel Schacter (2001), a well-known memory researcher, offers seven ways our memories fail us. He calls them the seven sins of memory and categorizes them into three groups: forgetting, distortion, and intrusion (Table 8.1). Sin Type Description Example Transience Forgetti ng Accessibility of memory decreases over time Forget events that occurred long ago absentmindedn ess Forgetti ng Forgetting caused by lapses in attention Forget where your phone is Blocking Forgetti ng Accessibility of information is temporarily blocked Tip of the tongue Misattribution Distorti on Source of memory is confused Recalling a dream memory as a waking memory Suggestibility Distorti on False memories Result from leading questions Bias Distorti on Memories distorted by current belief system Align memories to current beliefs Persistence Intrusio n Inability to forget undesirable memories Traumatic events Table8.1 Schacter’s Seven Sins of Memory