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CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITION OF TERMS USED

A. INTRODUCTION

What is this study all about again? Forgetting. It is

basically the opposite of remembering.

As defined by Feist and Rosenberg (2010), “Forgetting is the

weakening or loss of memories over time” (p.249). People forget

things as time pass by.

“Forgetting is the inability to retrieve memory from long-

term storage” (Gazzaniga and Heatherton, 2003, p.224) People miss

to remember information because they cannot access it in the

long-term storage.

It can’t be denied that forgetting is something that

everyone could experience. Even the prodigies and genius ones are

not exempted of being victims of this occurrence. Neither Albert

Einstein nor Confucius had a perfect memory. In fact, “We forget

far more than we ever remember” (Gazzaniga & Heatherton, 2003,

p.224).

Forgetting is a normal occurrence yet, it leads people into

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troubles and disadvantages. Not being able to remember what one

had studied will probably make him or her have a failing score in

exam. Missing to recall the visual image of a suspect won’t help

the victim in obtaining justice. Disremembering ATM codes would

likely make someone have insufficient cash to buy necessities and

to pay debt. These are just few of the situations where people

become helpless and unproductive because of forgetting. It

hinders people to accomplish goals, ending up of being one step

behind of actions that should’ve already been made.

Having experiencing difficulties similar to the situations

mentioned above and believing that it is a serious one and should

not be neglected, the researchers would like to study forgetting

and its causes and expand some of its related topics.

B. PROBLEM

Statement of the Problem. The main purpose of the research study

was to know the causes of and remedies for forgetting. Moreover,

the researchers would like to focus on the following questions

that will serve as guide to the study; (1)Why do people forget?;

(2)What would it be like if people don’t forget things?; and

(3)How to minimize the occurrence of forgetting?

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Importance of the Study. This study would be significant and

helpful to the following:

Students

The study suggests remedies for forgetting that would

be helpful to the students with their school activities like

quizzes and exams.

Teachers

The result of the study will provide the teachers ideas

and ways as to how to avoid forgetting the lessons during

discussions and the performances of the students.

Learners

The study would be beneficial and useful to the

learners as it covers interesting topics about forgetting which

they haven’t thought of before.

Workers

The study would be helpful to the workers in

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remembering their responsibilities and tasks to perform, making

them productive and effective.

All

The study would open up the mind of everyone and it

will give views about the natural being of humans. It would make

anyone be better in every action that he or she is going to take.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study. The study is focus on

determining reasons for forgetting and ways to aid its

occurrence. It also includes a topic about the state of a person

who is unable to forget.

The researchers gathered data from different kinds of books

and internet sources that greatly help them with the study.

C. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

The following terms are defined as used in this study:

Encoding – converting information into a form in which it will be

retained in memory.
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Forgetting - the weakening or loss of memories over time.

Long-term memory (LTM) – the memory system used for relatively

permanent storage of meaningful information.

Memory – the mental system for receiving, encoding, storing,

organizing, altering, and retrieving information.

Memory traces – physical changes in nerve cells or brain activity

that take place when memories are stored.

Phonological loop - is the part of working memory that deals with

spoken and written material.

Recall - or retrieval of memory refers to the subsequent re-

accessing of events or information from the past, which have been

previously encoded and stored in the brain.

Retrieval – recovering information from storage in memory.

Short-term memory (STM) - the memory system used to hold small

amounts of information in our conscious awareness for about a

dozen seconds.

Storage - where the information is stored.

Working memory – another name for short-term memory, especially

as it is used for thinking and solving problem.

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Chapter II
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PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Forgetting is very common among people yet, only few have

known the reasons behind it and have taken actions to minimize

its occurrence.

Causes of Forgetting

There are many theories made on why people are forgetting.

One is the Decay theory, proposing that “with time and disuse,

the physical memory trace in the nervous system fades away”

(Kosslyn & Rosenberg, 2011, p.180). This theory was tested

through experimental studies by Herman Ebbinghaus (1850-1909),

one of the founders of experimental psychology. He devised a

method for testing memory that used nonsense syllables with him

being the subject of the experiment. The results show that

forgetting occurred rapidly in the first few hours after learning

and then declined more gradually (Nevid, 2012, p.211). Decay is

considered as a reasonable one in explaining forgetting from

working memory, because some information in the phonological loop

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disappears within seconds if not rehearsed (Kalat, 1996, p.289).

In relation with this theory, memory is being compared by some

psychologists to a leaky bucket; it holds information, but some

of it drains out over time (Axelrod, 1999, p.116).

Another, the Theory of Interference, says that “we may

forget information not because it is no longer in storage or

memory but rather because old or newer related information

produces confusion and thus blocks retrieval from memory”

(Plotnik & Kouyoumdjian, 2009, p.266). This theory is classified

into two: Proactive and Retroactive Interference. The Proactive

Interference is the tendency for older or previously learned

material to interfere with the retrieval of newer, more recently

learned material while the Retroactive Interference is the

opposite – newer information interferes with the retrieval of

older information (Ciccareli & White, 2010, p.179). There’s a

greater risk of interference the greater the similarity between

events (Nevid, 2012, p.211). The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is

one of the most common and annoying forms of interference. It is

when one is feeling certain that he or she knows something but

can’t recall it at the moment (Axelrod, 1999, p.116).

Another theory, Retrieval theory, “posits that forgetting is

the result of failing to access stored memories” (Nevid, 2012,

p.213). Retrieval cues are missing during the time of retrieving

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information that’s why it fails to access memories (Coon &

Mitterer, 2012, p.312). “Retrieval cues are stimuli that allow us

to recall more easily information that is in long-term memory”

(Feldman, 2010, p.213). These are anything that helps to remember

memories.

There’s another explanation for normal memory loss –

Encoding failure, “the result when one do not process information

well enough to ensure that it is fully entered into Long-Term

Memory, according to Schacter (1999)” (Kosslyn & Rosenberg, 2011,

p.180). There’s nothing to recall because the information does

not exist in the memory in the first place.

For Sigmund Freud, certain memories are not forgotten but

are kept hidden from awareness by repression, or motivated

forgetting (Nevid, 2012, p.214). Repression, according to him, is

a mental process that automatically hides emotionally threatening

or anxiety-producing information in the unconscious, from which

repressed memories cannot be recalled voluntarily, but something

may cause to them to enter consciousness at a later time (Plotnik

& Kouyoumdijian, 2009, p.265).

There are 3 forms of forgetting which are included in the

Seven Sins of Memory – Transience, Blocking, and

Absentmindedness. Memory Transience refers to the decreasing

accessibility of memory over time while Blocking is the temporary

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inability to remember something that is known. Transience and

Blocking are both caused by interference. Absentmindedness is a

result of shallow encoding which occurs when people fail to pay

sufficient attention to details (Gazzaniga & Heatherton, 2003,

p.227). It results from encoding failure.

Health conditions can affect the memory too - Nutrient

Deficiencies, infections, depression and etc. Vitamin B-12

deficiency, if persists long enough without treatment, can lead

to irreversible memory loss and other neurological problems. High

Blood Pressure that goes untreated for years may lead to unclear

thinking later in life. Drugs, especially when taking more than

one, can impair thinking ability (Duffy, 1998, p.68).

What would it be like if people don’t forget anything?

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Have you ever thought of “What if I couldn’t forget…”? It

would be really amazing to be able to remember anything what you

saw, read or heard, right? It’s like having a superpower.

Consider the case of A.R. Luria’s (1968) famous mnemonist,

Solomon Veniaminovich Shereshevsky or known simply as ‘S’. He was

a Russian newspaper reporter who had an almost perfect memory. In

a precise order, he could repeat 70 numbers which are randomly

selected and he had just studied. He could recite lists of

hundreds of meaningless syllables not only immediately after

studying them but also when tested again some 15 years later.

Except for an enormously long string of numbers and symbols, he

could memorize long mathematical formulas that were meaningless

to him (Nevid, 2012, p.197).

As a performing mnemonist, he astonishes his audiences with

lists of numbers that he memorized in minutes but, the truth is

he found out that he was unable to forget the lists. He also

could not easily forget things. He can’t get off his mind even

trivial memories. He got images and words associated with another

flood his mind (Ciccarelli & White, 2010, pp.176-177).

As a result, he had trouble holding conversations because

individual words opened a floodgate of associations that

distracted him from what the other person was saying. He even
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found it difficult to recognize people who had changed small

details of their physical appearance like haircut (Nevid, 2012,

p.197).

Even having those astonishing mental capabilities, Mr. S.

wasn’t that well with his life. He spent his last years of being

confined to a mental hospital (Nevid, 2012, p.197).

How to minimize the occurrence of forgetting?

“Forgetting is an everyday experience that is perfectly

normal” (Gazzaniga & Heatherton, 2003, p.224). It is natural

phenomenon that couldn’t be avoided to happen daily. With that,

the only thing to do is to minimize its occurrence. How?

Many people had tested themselves and searched for ways and

methods to improve their thinking and to lessen forgetting. For

many health enthusiasts, Health is the best suggestion to have a

better Memory. According to Janet Martin (2012), it is needed to

increase blood flow for oxygen and important nutrients like B

Vitamins to reach the brain for it to have a better capacity to

process and store information. To make it happen, one shouldn’t

eat fatty foods because fat can accumulate in the arteries and

blood vessels. One should also increase exercise regimen to help

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the heart pump more oxygen to the brain. It is also an apt to

flex mental muscles - reading books, solving puzzles or any other

mind games to have no more memory lapses. Like a muscle, brain

will waste away if it is not used or exercised on a regular

basis. It is also needed to detoxify digestive tract because it

is where the absorption of vitamins and minerals needed by your

brain all starts.

According to WikiHow (2016), one should eat healthy foods -

brain needs it to save memories correctly. Exercising is also

essential to replenish cells which are completely helpful for the

brain. Sleeping well is also needed because while sleeping, the

brain heals itself.

According to Stephanie Castillo (2012), one should eat

breakfast. With the right foods, you can keep brain cells healthy

and help stave off age-related cognitive decline —starting with

the most important meal of the day. Aerobic exercise is also a

must because it boosts the speed and sharpness of thought, as

well as the actual volume of brain tissue. According to her, one

should also avoid chewing gums. Researchers from the UK’s Cardiff

University found that chewing gum actually impairs short-term

memory.

There are also other people who have their own ways on

getting rid of forgetting. According to Craig Jarrow (2016),

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“What we need are good habits and strategies to remember what we

need to do”. Writing down To-Do list, setting up alarm clocks,

and utilizing calendar are some of the simplest and best ways to

avoid forgetting things to be done.

The SQ3R(Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review) method

of Francis Robinson (1941) is a strategy for studying and

remembering written material (Warwick, 2004, p.122). This is a

technique that helps to preserve information because it’s always

rehearsed.

Retrieval Cues, as mentioned above, are very helpful to

remember things. These are anything that helps to recall a memory

like smells, emotions, and etc. “The bodily state that exists

during learning can be a strong retrieval cue for later memory”

(Coon & Mitterer, 2012, p.314). When having exams, one would

likely to remember the answers if he or she has the same perfume

with what he or she put on when studying. A person would only

remember a friend who helped him or her out during the time of

difficulties if he or she is feeling down or sad. Multiple choice

test questions have retrieval cues too in the questions since the

correct answer is on the page.

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CHAPTER III
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SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Forgetting is caused by having problems with the mental

processes – encoding, storage, and retrieval. People can’t

remember things because information wasn’t fully and properly

entered in the memory in the first place (encoding). Sometimes,

information is forgotten because it already faded in the memory

from not being used over time (storage). Forgetting also occurs

because information is being blocked because it interferes with

similar information, because retrieval cues are missing, and

because a memory is being hidden from awareness (retrieval).

Unlike Mr. S, almost everyone can function well in normal

society. His condition shows that memory is best for meaningful

and important points. It is already perfect for people to be

imperfect beings.

Forgetting is a perfectly normal phenomenon but, with

healthy diet and proper discipline to oneself its occurrence can

be minimized. There are many methods and techniques that can be

used in order to avoid forgetting things to be done. If only one

is organize enough, then goals can be accomplished.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

The researchers recommend people to understand more the

nature of human beings. Everyone will always forget but, it can

be minimized through discipline. Eat healthy foods to get

important nutrients from them. Have a proper sleep for the brain

to repair itself and exercise regularly. Do things that use

thinking to preserve the information stored in the memory. And

lastly, organize and manage things to be more productive and

learn the strategies tackled above to avoid forgetting.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. Books
- Feist & Rosenberg. (2010). Psychology: Making Connections. New
York: McGraw-Hill.

- Gazzaniga, M.S. & Heatherton, T.F. (2003). Psychological

Science. United States of America: W.W. Norton.

- Passer, M.W. & Smith, R.E. (2001). Psychology: Frontiers &

Applications. New York: McGraw-Hill.

- Nevid, J.S. (2012). Essentials of Psychology (3rd Ed). Canada:

Wadsworth.

- Kalat, J. (1996). Introduction to Psychology (4th Ed).

California: Brooks/Cole.

- Kosslyn, S. & Rosenberg, R. (2011). Introducing Psychology.

Boston: Pearson Education.

- Nolen-Hoeksema, Fredrickson, Loftus & Wagenaar. (2009).

Atkinson & Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology. Canada: Cengage.

- Axelrod, A. (1999). Ace Your Midterms and Finals: Introduction

to Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

- Coon, D. & Mitterer, J.O. (2012). Introduction to Psychology.

Canada: Wadsworth.

- Plotnik, R. & Kouyoumdjian, H. (2009). Introduction to

Psychology. Canada: Wadsworth.

- Ciccarelli, S.K. & White, J.N. (2010). Psychology: An

Exploration. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

- Feldman, R.S. (2010). Psychology and Your Life. New York:

McGraw-Hill.

- Duffy, K.G. (1998). Psychology 98/99. United States of America:

Dushkin/McGraw-Hill.

- Warwick, L.L. & Bolton, L. (2004). The Everything Psychology

Book. United States of America: F+W.
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B. Websites
- How to Avoid Forgetting. Wiki How.
http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Forgetting.

- Jarrow, C. (2012, February 15). 10 Ways to Stop Forgetting

Things & Get More Done. Retrieved from
https://timemanagementninja.com/2012/02/10-ways-to-stop-
forgetting-things-get-more-done/.

- Castillo, S. (2012, August 28). 5 Ways to Stop Forgetting

Things. Retrieved from http://www.prevention.com/health/brain-
health/easy-ways-boost-your-memory-recall.

- Martin, J. (2012, September 13). How to Increase Your Brain

Power and Stop Forgetting Things. Retrieved from
http://www.seniorcareservices.org/increase_your_brain_power.htm
.