The Forgetting Curve

Ebbinghaus and Nonsense Forgetting curve Nonsense Syllables wyx ghe jek lsm

Distributed Studying: How to Pass

Dan Schacter 2001

 Subjective feeling that people have of being confident that they know the target word for which they are searching, yet they cannot recall this word. They are somewhat able to recall words of similar sounds and meaning, but never the actual word they are seeking.

 Primacy effect – remembering stuff at beginning of list better than middle because of rehearsal  Recency Effect – remembering stuff at the end of list better than middle because of lack of interference

Blocking - Interference 112 Retroactive = Recent Proactive = Previous

 Cryptomnesia occurs when individuals mistakenly believe that they are the original generators of the thought  False memories occur when a person's identity and interpersonal relationships are strongly centered around a memory of an experience that did not actually take place  Source confusion occurs when an individual misattributes a source of a memory, such as misattributing a real life experience with one actually seen in a movie

 Expectancy/ Confirmation Bias: ◦ Tendency to distort recalled events to make them fit one’s expectations  Self-consistency Bias: ◦ Common belief that we are more consistent in our attitudes, opinions & beliefs than we actually are

 “Remembering” something that was suggested to us by someone else

 Loftus

“I vaguely, vague, I mean this is very vague, remember the lady helping me and Tim and my mom doing something else, but I don't remember crying. I mean I can remember a hundred times crying..... I just remember bits and pieces of it. I remember being with the lady. I remember going shopping. I don't think I, I don't remember the sunglasses part.” "..I totally remember walking around in those dressing rooms and my mom not being in the section she said she'd be in. You know what I mean?"

 Occurs when memories that should be forgotten cannot be forgotten