HUH?

EBBINGHAUS’S FORGETTING CURVE
 Hermann Ebbinghaus tested memory
 Created Forgetting Curve : graphs retention and forgetting over time
 Showed steep drop in retention within hours of learning

MEASURING FORGETTINGFORGETTING
 Retention : proportion of material retained
 3 principle methods for measuring forgetting: recall, recognition, and relearning

RECALL
 DEF: requires subjects to reproduce info on their own w/o any cues

RECOGNITION
 DEF: requires subjects to select previously learned info from any array of options
 Yield higher scores than recall

RELEARNING
 DEF: requires a subject to memorize info a 2 nd time to determine how much time or effort is saved by having learned it before
 Compare time spent learning the 1 st time with time spent learning same material a 2 nd time

WHY WE FORGET
 Pseudoforgetting —due to ineffective encoding (penny test)
 Decay theory : forgetting occurs b/c memory traces fade with time
 Interference theory : people forget info b/c of competition from other material
 2 types of interference:
 1) retroactive interference : when new info impairs the retention of previously learned info
 2) proactive interference : when previously learned info interferes w/retention of new info

WHY WE FORGET CONTINUED
 Retrieval failure
 Encoding specificity principle : the value of a retrieval cue depends on how well it corresponds to the memory code
 Transfer appropriate processing : occurs when the initial processing of info is similar to the type of processing required by the subsequent measure of retention
 Motivated forgetting : tendency to forget things one doesn’t want to think about
 Freud called this Repression : keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious

BIOCHEMISTRY OF MEMORY
 Specific memories may depend on biochemical changes at specific synapses (alterations in synaptic transmission)
 Neurotransmitters may help with storage of new info

NEURAL CIRCUITRY OF MEMORY
 Memories may create unique, reusable neural pathways
 Long-term pontentiation : a long lasting increase in neural excitability at synapses along a specific neural pathway

ANATOMY OF MEMORY
 Studies in organic amnesia give clues
 2 basic types of amnesia:
 1) Retrograde : loss of memories for events that occurred prior to the onset of amnesia
 2) Anterograde : loss of memories for events that occur after the onset of amnesia
 Studies in amnesia have shown the hippocampal region is critical for LTM and Consolidation : a hypothetical process involving the gradual conversion of info into durable memory codes stored in LTM

IMPLICIT VS. EXPLICIT MEMORY
 Implicity memory : type of memory apparent when retention is exhibited on a task that does not require intentional remembering
 Explicit memory : intentional recollection of previous experiences

DECLARATIVE VS. PROCEDURAL MEMORY
 Declarative memory system : handles factual information
 Procedural memory system : houses memory for actions, skills, operations, and conditioned responses

SEMANTIC VS. EPISODIC MEMORY
 Episodic memory system : made up of chronological, or temporally dated, recollections of personal experiences
 Semantic memory system : contains general knowledge that is not tied to the time when the info was learned

PROSPECTIVE VS. RETROSPECTIVE
MEMORY
 Prospective memory : involves remembering to perform actions in the future
 Retrospective memory : remembering events from the past or previously learned info