The Psychology of Forgetting and Why Memory Fails Essay Example
Introduction
There are two major reasons why we usually forget. The memory may have disappeared or the memory is still there but stored in the memory system and it cannot be retrieved. The memory disappearance is attributed to storage in the short term memory. Availability of the information in the brain but it cannot be retrieved is explained using the long term memory.
I once encountered the act of forgetting in a very crucial moment. I had not read for the last two weeks towards my end of semester exam. When the exam was almost I just decided to cram. I entered the exam room confidently that I have read and I was ready to tackle the exam. To my surprise, everything vanished from my mind and I just stared at the invigilator and the exam paper. I terribly failed. This form o
...f forgetting can be well explained using trace decay theory of forgetting. The theory assumes that some memory traces are left in the brain. A trace is a chemical or physical amendment in the nervous system. The theory stipulates that forgetting occurs as result of fading of the memory trace or automatic decay. The theory concentrates on two major factors; limited duration of the short term memory and time. The theory dictates that short-term memory can hold information for between 15 to 30 seconds. After this, the information fades away. The information stored in the short term memory can be distorted by the events that occur between learning and recalling. However, the decay theory is not affected by this events but the length of time between the two events. The longer the time, the mor
the memory traces decays. The repercussion associated with this is a lot of information is lost.
Since childhood, I was very familiar with my dad’s place of job, his job mates and much more. Recently I was asked by my lecturer about the information but I could not remember at all. I only remembered few details about the information. This form of forgetting can be explained using long-term memory. Interference theory dictates that memory can be disrupted by whatever we previously learned or what we will learn in the future. The information in the long term memory may become confused during encoding hence encoding failure. This leads to distorting memories. Interference from other memories causes forgetting. In conclusion, a lot of information should be stored in the long term memory.
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