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Reversing the course of forgetting
K Geoffrey White1, Glenn S Brown
1Department of Psychology, University of Otago, New Zealand. geoff.white@otago.ac.nz
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|September 13, 2011
Summary
Pigeons showed reversed forgetting when a houselight was turned off during the retention interval, suggesting attention, not time, drives memory decay in this task.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Forgetting is a fundamental aspect of memory.
- Retention interval duration typically predicts memory decline.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of attention and interference in forgetting.
- To examine how extraneous stimuli affect memory performance in pigeons.
Main Methods:
- Pigeons were trained on a delayed matching-to-sample task.
- Retention intervals varied in duration and light conditions (dark, houselight on/off).
Main Results:
- Accuracy decreased with longer retention intervals in darkness.
- A houselight during the retention interval increased forgetting.
- Turning the houselight off partway reversed forgetting, increasing accuracy later in the interval.
Conclusions:
- Forgetting is not solely dependent on the passage of time.
- Attention switching between memory tasks and extraneous stimuli influences memory performance.
- Interference from extraneous events plays a significant role in the forgetting process.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Forgetting
Forgetting is an intrinsic aspect of human memory, characterized by the gradual loss or inaccessibility of information over time. Hermann Ebbinghaus, a pioneering psychologist, extensively studied this phenomenon and formulated the forgetting curve. This curve illustrates that memory loss occurs rapidly immediately after learning and then decelerates over time. Several mechanisms contribute to forgetting, including encoding failure, storage decay, retrieval failure, and interference.
Encoding...
Encoding...
01:16Interference and Decay
Forgetting is a complex cognitive phenomenon influenced by several factors, among which interference and decay are particularly prominent. These processes explain why individuals often struggle to retrieve specific information from memory, leading to lapses in recall that can be observed in everyday situations.
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
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01:26Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
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Repressed memories are a psychological phenomenon where memories of traumatic events are unconsciously blocked from a person's awareness. This process occurs as a defense mechanism, protecting the mind from the emotional impact of distressing or painful experiences. For example, a person who has experienced childhood trauma may grow up with no conscious recollection of the event. In such cases, the memories are thought to be buried deep within the subconscious, inaccessible to the conscious...
01:12Retrieval
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Recall involves accessing information without cues, such as during an essay test, where individuals must retrieve facts and concepts from memory unaided. Another example is remembering the name of a colleague...
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01:18False Memories
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