FORGETTING:

WHEN
MEMORY FAILS
PRESENTED BY: RAEES NAIK ALAM SAHIL
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Definition & types of memory forgetting

• Reasons of forgetting
• Memory Dysfunctions
• Improving your memory
DEFINITION OF FORGETTING

• Forgetting is inability to recall a learnt topic or inability recognize a seen object.

• “Forgetting means failure at any time to recall an experience when attempting to do so or to perform
an action previously learned” – Drever

• “Forgetting is the failure of the individual to revive in consciousness an idea or group of ideas without
the help of the original stimuli”- Bhatia
TYPES OF
FORGETTING

• Two types:
• Natural or passive forgetting:
Forgetting occurs with the lapse of time in a quite
normal way without any intention of forgetting on the
part of the individual.
• Morbid or Abnormal forgetting:
One deliberately tries to forget something.
 REASONS OF FORGETTING
• Meaninglessness of content
We forget meaningless and useless content as compared to meaningful and useful content, because
meaningless content does not leave any imprint on the mind and it fails to establish any relationship
with life.
• Time Lapse
We forget with the passage of time. Memory weakens with the passage of time and forgetting
strengthen.
• Exercise
So long the knowledge or activity is not repeatedly exercised, it gradually forget. Forgetting occurs due
to the absence of exercise, therefore more exercise is helpful in memory.
 CONT..
• Mental conflict or Mental illness
Situations like mental conflicts or illness people find himself unable to retain a thing in memory for a
long time.
• Anxiety
Anxiety also cause in enhancing forgetting. An individual forgets many things or does them
wrongly when he is anxious.
• Learning methods
When the teacher does not use the method which are according to the physical, mental, emotional
and social levels of the child, then the forgetting occurs more by the use of these methods.
• Intoxicants
Excessive use of different type of intoxicants has ill effect on the mind and memory power weakens.
 THEORIES OF FORGETTING
• The trace decay theory:
Some psychologists think that it is due to fading of memory traces or decay that happens with lapse of
time. Decay is what supposedly occur when the passage of time causes us to forget. The memory trace
(or engram) fades and the memory is no longer available.
• The trace decay theory of forgetting states that all memories fade automatically as a function of time.
Under this theory, you need to follow a certain pathway, or trace, to recall a memory. If this pathway
goes unused for some amount of time, the memory decays, which leads to difficulty recalling, or the
inability to recall, the memory.
• Rehearsal or mentally going over a memory, can slow this process. But disuse of a trace will lead to
memory decay, which will ultimately cause retrieval failure. This process begins almost immediately if
the information is not used: for example, sometimes we forget a person's name even though we have
just met them.
 MEMORY OVER TIME

Over time, a memory becomes harder to

remember. A memory is most easily recalled
when it is brand new, and without rehearsal,
begins to be forgotten.
 INTERFERENCE THEORY

• It is easier to remember recent events than those further in the past.

• "Transience" refers to the general deterioration of a specific memory
over time.
• Under interference theory, transience occurs because all memories interfere
with the ability to recall other memories.
• Two types
(i) Proactive Interference
(ii) Retroactive Interference
 CONT..
• Proactive Interference:
Proactive interference occurs when old memories hinder the ability to make new memories. In this type
of interference, old information inhibits the ability to remember new information, such as when
outdated scientific facts interfere with the ability to remember updated facts. This often occurs when
memories are learned in similar contexts, or regarding similar things. use us to forget things
permanently.
• Retroactive Interference:
Retroactive interference occurs when old memories are changed by new ones, sometimes so much that
the original memory is forgotten. This is when newly learned information interferes with and impedes
the recall of previously learned information. The ability to recall previously learned information is
greatly reduced if that information is not utilized, and there is substantial new information being
presented. This often occurs when hearing recent news figures, then trying to remember earlier facts
and figures.
 MEMORY INTERFERENCE

Both old and new memories

can impact how well we are
able to recall a memory.
CUE-DEPENDENT FORGETTING

• When we store a memory, we not only record all sensory data, we also store our mood and emotional
state.
• Our current mood thus will affect the memories that are most effortlessly available to us, such that
when we are in a good mood, we recollect good memories, and when we are in a bad mood, we
recollect bad ones. This suggests that we are sometimes cued to remember certain things by,
for example, our emotional state or our environment.
• Cue-dependent forgetting, also known as retrieval failure, is the failure to recall information in the
absence of memory cues.
MEMORY DYSFUNCTIONS

• Memory disorders are the result of damage to neuroanatomical

structures that hinders the storage, retention and recollection
of memories.
• Memory disorders can be progressive, including Alzheimer's
disease, or they can be immediate including disorders resulting
from head injury.
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

• Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative and fatal

brain disease, in which cell to cell connections in the brain are
lost.
• Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia.
• Globally approximately 1–5% of the population is affected by
Alzheimer's disease.
• Women are disproportionately the victims of Alzheimer's disease,
with evidence suggesting that women with AD display more
severe cognitive impairment relative to age-matched males with
AD, as well as a more rapid rate of cognitive decline.
AMNESIA

• Amnesia is an abnormal mental state in which memory and

learning are affected out of all proportion to other cognitive
functions in an otherwise alert and responsive patient.
• There are two forms of amnesia:
• Anterograde amnesia: show difficulty in the learning and
retention of information encountered after brain damage.
• Retrograde amnesia: generally have memories spared about
personal experiences or context independent semantic
information.
WERNICKE- KORSAKOFF'S SYNDROME

• Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) is a severe neurological

disorder caused by thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency, and is
usually associated with chronic excessive alcohol consumption.
• Symptoms of Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome include confusion,
amnesia, and impaired short-term memory.
• Individuals often appear apathetic and inattentive and some
may experience agitation.
• WKS symptoms may be long-lasting or permanent and its
distinction is separate from acute affects of alcohol
consumption and from periods of alcohol withdrawal.
IMPROVING YOUR MEMORY

• Use the keyword technique

• Rely on organization cues
• Take effective note
• Practice and rehearse
• Don’t believe claims that improve memory.
• Focus Your Attention
• Avoid Cramming
CONT..

• Visualize Concepts
• Relate New Information to Things You Already Know
• Read Out Loud
• Pay Extra Attention to Difficult Information
• Vary Your Study Routine
• Get Some Sleep