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forgetting
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Forgetting or disremembering is the apparent loss or modification of information already encoded and stored in an individual's short or long-term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old memories are unable to be recalled from memory storage. Problems with remembering, learning and retaining new information are a few of the most common complaints of older adults. Studies show that retention improves with increased rehearsal. This improvement occurs because rehearsal helps to transfer information into long-term memory.
Forgetting is when information you've stored in your memory—either short-term or long-term—becomes difficult or impossible to recall, either suddenly or gradually over time. It matters because memory problems affect many people, particularly older adults, and understanding that rehearsal and repetition can improve what we remember helps us learn and retain information more effectively.
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Key facts
- Medical condition.image
- Garten des Vergessens.jpg
- Medical condition.caption
- The garden of oblivion, illustration for by Ephraim Moses Lilr the I
- Medical condition.symptoms
- Difficulty in remembering recent events, problems with language, disorientation, mood swings
- Medical condition.complications
- Dementia
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- Forgetting
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~18 min read
Article
19 sectionsContents
- Overview
- History
- Measurements
- Recall
- Free recall and variants
- Prompted (cued) recall
- Relearning method
- Recognition
- Theories
- Cue-dependent forgetting
- Organic causes
- Interference theories
- Trace decay theory
- Impairments and lack of forgetting
- Social forgetting
- See also
- References
- Sources
- External links
Forgetting or disremembering is the apparent loss or modification of information already encoded and stored in an individual's short or long-term memory. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old memories are unable to be recalled from memory storage. Problems with remembering, learning and retaining new information are a few of the most common complaints of older adults. Studies show that retention improves with increased rehearsal. This improvement occurs because rehearsal helps to transfer information into long-term memory.
Forgetting curves (amount remembered as a function of time since an event was first experienced) have been extensively analyzed. The most recent evidence suggests that a power function provides the closest mathematical fit to the forgetting function.