Page 2 - LN 4_Human Memory

▪ If forgetting takes place because memory traces decay due to disuse, then

people who go to sleep after memorising should forget more compared to those

who remain awake, simply because there is no way in which memory traces

can be put to use during sleep.
▪ Results, however, show just the opposite.

2. FORGETTING DUE TO INTERFERENCE

▪ Suggests that forgetting is due to interference between various information that

the memory store contains.
▪ This theory assumes that learning and memorising involve forming of

associations between items and once acquired, these associations remain intact

in the memory.

▪ People keep acquiring numerous such associations and each of these rests

independently without any mutual conflict.
▪ However, interference comes about at a time of retrieval when these various

sets of associations compete with each other for retrieval.

▪ There are atleast two kinds of interferences that may result in forgetting.

▪ Interference can be

▪ Proactive (forward moving) which means what you have learnt earlier
interferes with the recall of your subsequent learning OR

▪ Retroactive (backward moving) which refers to difficulty in recalling what you

have learnt earlier because of learning a new material.

▪ In proactive interference, past learning interferes with the recall of later

learning while in retroactive interference the later learning interferes with the
recall of past learning.

3. FORGETTING DUE TO RETRIEVAL FAILURE

▪ Forgetting can occur because at the time of recall, either the retrieval cues are

absent or they are inappropriate.

▪ Retrieval cues are aids which help us in recovering information stored in the
memory.

▪ This view was advanced by Tulving and his associates who carried out several

experiments to show that contents of memory may become inaccessible either