FORGETTING

INTRODUCTION

This is a common term meaning to fail to remember.

Failure to recall previously learned information on a permanent or temporary basis is called forgetting.

Forgetting has positive and negative value in our life.

On the positive side, forgetting is a great blessing to mankind.

If there is no forgetting, all the bad and sad events are stored in our mind, which we often feel sad by remembering.

The process of forgetting removes sad and traumatic experiences from the mind.

On the negative side, forgetfulness is a very important problem in our daily life. For example you have given your book to your friend and you are searching at home.

Many student friends complain that they don’t remember the lectures in the classroom. The main reason for this is lack of interest or attention.

A lot of information does not make it through to short term memory due to lack of concentration which results in short term memory not being converted into long term memory and thus not being remembered.

DEFINITION

Forgetting is the permanent or temporary loss of the ability to recall and recognize previously learned information.

Forgetting is the failure to retrieve information that has already been learned.

Causes of forgetting:

Causes for forgetting are as follows:

Encoding failure :
(encoding failure)

There is a difference between forgetting and not remembering. Forgetting is the inability to remember something that you can recall later.

But when people say they can’t remember, they don’t actually forget.

An inability to remember may be the result of a failure of encoding.

That is, we fail to convert the information we receive into a form that can be stored in memory.

Hence, if the information is not systematically encoded or organized, the information is forgotten. And such information is never entered into long term memory.

Consolidation failure :
(Consolidation Failure)

Consolidation is the process by which encoded information is stored in memory.

If something interrupts this process, the information is not transferred to long-term memory.

Hence the information is forgotten as it is not transferred to long term memory.

For example, a car accident, head injury, grand mal seizure that causes a person to lose consciousness and fail to consolidate.

Interference:
(Interference)

Interference is a major cause of forgetting. Which affects people every day.

In them, one memory prevents the recall of another memory.

That is, old stored information or newly acquired information interferes with recall.

There are two types of interference:

Proactive Interference:

Retroactive interference:

Proactive Interference: In proactive interference, information already stored in long-term memory interferes with the recall of new information.

Retroactive interference:

Decay:
(DK):

When we learn something new, physical changes occur in our brain and chemical traces are formed. In which information is stored is called memory trace.

According to the DK theory, we forget something or information because the memory fades over time and eventually disappears completely.

That is, if we do not try to remember an event or information, then that event or information is forgotten over time.

Motivated forgetting:
(Motivated Forgetting):

A strong motive or desire to forget causes us to forget a situation or thing we don’t like or a memory that makes us sad to recall.

For example rape victims, war veterans and survivors of plane crashes or earthquakes have all had horrific experiences. If it is remembered often it affects all the activities we do in our daily life.

Hence such people use generalized forgetting to forget their fearful experiences.

Suppression is a form of augmented forgative. In which the person tries to remove painful, terrifying romantic experiences from the conscious mind and relegate them to the unconscious mind.

In repression, a person unconsciously pushes the unpleasant memory out of his mind.

Retrieval failure :
(Retrieval Failure):

Retrieval means recalling and reusing stored information when needed.

Retrieval is very important to recall. Information stored in long-term memory cannot be properly recorded if the retrieval process is not correct

You may experience that some information cannot be recalled despite many attempts. But after some time that information is easily remembered.

For example while giving an exam you cannot remember the answer to some questions which you have read before.

Often people are certain they know something but are unable to retrieve the information when they need it. This type of forgetting is known as a retrieval failure.

Organic causes:
(Organic Kos):

Physiological damage to the brain or brain cell degeneration affects forgetting. Which is known as organic cell.

For example physical illness and disease, age, accidents cause damage to brain tissue. Due to which forgetting is seen.

In retroactive interference, a newly learned item or information interferes with the remembering of previously stored information. For example, sociology subject was taught in yesterday’s lecture and psychology subject was taught in today’s lecture. Hence the notes of sociology subject are forgotten and the notes of psychology subject are remembered.

Method of improving memory:

(Method of Improving Memory):

There are many ways to increase memory. People usually complain that their memory has decreased. This type of complaint is more common among students.

Good memory power is essential for success. But a person feels that his memory power is slowly diminishing. This is completely wrong.

If there is no brain injury or any disease there is no effect on memory.

If a person is physically and mentally healthy, his memory is good.

Whether the material taught to a person is complex, one’s own emotional condition is not good, one lacks concentration, all these things affect one’s memory.

It is necessary to learn well so that one forgets what he has learned. So that its retention is good so that it can be recalled well.

Memory can be improved through proper learning methods, training, practice and augmentation.

It is easier to learn any piece of information than to learn it whole. Understanding and memorizing information is easier than gluing.

Memory can be improved by following methods and tricks.

Mnemonics / memory tricks:
(mnemonics / memory trick):

The word mnemonics is of Greek origin and means a special kind of trick. Which is used to improve memory. With the help of which information can be remembered well.

Even people with good memory often use this memory trick.

In order to remember an information or thing, we must remember it in a form that we remember from the beginning or in a form that can be easily remembered.

As we remember all the seven colors of the rainbow as a trick, Janivalipinara. With this sort of trick, all the seven colors of the rainbow are remembered in the line.

Method of loci :
(Method of Loki):

The word Loki is a Latin word. Which means place.

In which a scene is watched and the information contained in it is remembered.

That is, creating a mental picture of the thing we are getting information about and comparing it with that information so we remember that information with the picture.

For example, if you want to remember an example of classical conditioning for an exam, create a mental picture such that there is a dog in the image, there is a laboratory room, there is food in it, there is a bell. Rehearse this image often so that it fits well in the brain and can be remembered well when needed.

Chunking:
(chunking):

This is the act of systematically encoding information.

For example, if a long digit is to be memorized, it is divided into different parts for memorization.

Like remembering the date of first school admission to remember the first four digits and remembering one’s birth date to remember the second digit and pincode number of a city for the last digit. Catastrophe is very important for enhancing memory.

Rhyming system:
(rhyming system):

A rhyming system is a memory technique used to memorize numbers.

Each number is converted into a picture which is associated with the number and it becomes easy to remember those numbers.

For example
0 = hero
1 = sun
2 = shoe
3 = tree
4 = door
That is zero is hero, one is sun, three is tree

Make a story:
(Make a Story):

In this method, a list of items to be memorized is made and this list can be easily memorized by organizing it in the form of a story.

For example, when a story is to be written, its points are given first. Hence the story should start from the first point in the list of points and the story is written by arranging each point in order. So we remember the whole story easily.

Develop a will power :
(Develop a Will Power):

When we learn anything our will power to learn should be strong and also the will power to remember the information should be strong. Strong will power helps us to understand information so we remember it well.

Keep concentration :
(Keep Concentration):

Attention and concentration are very important while learning anything. Concentration helps in understanding the information and the information can be remembered well.

Picture the learning material:
(Picture the learning material):

Creating a mental picture of material or information means creating a visual image.

We remember that thing easily through this visual image.

Repetition:
(repetition)

Repetition is essential to transfer short term memory to long term memory. If repetition is not done the information stored in the memory is forgotten.

Minimize interference:
(Minimize Interference):

Avoid things that interfere with learning. As sociology and psychology interfere with each other, do not study both together.

Diet:
(Diet):

Eating a diet rich in vitamin D, vitamin B12, zinc, folic acid, omega 3 antioxidants. It improves memory.