Forgetting in Short-term Memory Essay

Short term memory is a part of the memory storage system. This is capable of storing information for a very short period of time as the duration that short term memory is limited. This was researched by psychologists Peterson and Peterson in 1959, they conducted a huge

Which of the following results of a forward digit span task, IF TRUE, would provide evidence that forgetting in short-term memory is due to decay?

When we learn something new, we begin to forget rapidly before what we retain levels off. Reasons for why this may be happening is because we never encoded the memory, decaying of stored memory, or because the physical memory trace is gradually fading (Myers & DeWall, 2016, p.303).

“Decay theory-- we forget memories because we don’t use them and they fade away over time

The concept of the memory stage starts with sensory input which then goes to sensory memory. If the input is unattended information it disappears, but if you pay attention to it the information then travels to the short-term memory. Three different things can happen in short-term memory stage if information present is left unrehearsed, it is lost, but you can lengthen the time information is spent in short-term memory by maintenance rehearsal. The third possible part is encoding which moves the information from short-term memory to long-term memory where some information can be lost over time. Retrieval allows information to be brought back to short-term memory so you can think about it. I will use the knowledge of this concept a lot in my future as I will need to remember a vast amount of information in a short amount of time and

In general our long-term memory is relatively more stable than short-term memory “Because STM is an active, conscious process, limited in both duration and capacity, it is easily disrupted by external events, as is clear every time we become distracted. LTM, on the other hand, is not easily disrupted. If you remember the capital of Denmark today, you are still likely to know it next month, next year, maybe even next decade” (LeFrancois, 2011, p. 5.2). In most cases, what we are able to learn now, can be remembered through repetition, reflection, and word association for decades to come. Although our memory continues to grow as we learn more, as we grow older we still process and retain new information, however, it just takes allot longer to learn as well as retrieve new information from memory. “Memory is involved in all aspects of human functioning. In fact, it is very difficult to separate memory and learning, so closely are they linked. Learning is a change in behavior that results from experience; and, in a sense, memory is the effect of experience. More precisely, it is the system that allows us to retain and retrieve the effects of experience. There will be no evidence of learning without something having happened in memory; by the same token, something happening in memory implies learning” (LeFrancois, 2011, p. 5.1).

Sleep has an undoubtedly profound effect on cognitive function and memory consolidation in young children. Policy makers have the ability to influence sleeping patterns in children by means of scheduling of classes and funding activities — therefore research into sleeping patterns for optimal achievement is very important when considering the structure of early education. Extensive research exists showing the positive effects of napping on cognitive performance tasks but there is still somewhat of a gap in the quantitative information of adolescent napping via actimeter or electroencephalograph when analyzing the results of declarative memory recall as well as controlling for the effects of social interaction in lecture settings. Research on preschool children illustrated that sleep spindles in midday naps enhanced learning for memories acquired earlier that day (Kurdziel, Duclos & Spencer, 2013). A similar study conducted with adolescents showed that napping enhanced the duration of declarative memories which demonstrates the continued benefits of napping through development (Lemos, Weissheimer & Riberio 2014). A later study showed that nap schedules modulate children’s motor learning in finger tapping exercises and facilitate skill retention for younger children (Ren, Guo, Yan, Liu, & Jia, 2015). In another study, infants who were in a nap

In this system there are three separate components that combine to enable us to process memories. These three components of memory are sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory (Reisberg, 2013). Of the three, sensory memory has the shortest time-span in our memory lasting roughly 300 milliseconds. The purpose of the sensory memory is to interpret the sensations coming to the body, and then transfer them to short term if there is enough attention placed on them (Reisberg, 2013). Short-term memory has a longer time-span in which it can be remembered. In short term memory we are able to remember 7 items +/- 2. These items can be remembered for up to a minute and that length of time can be increased if they are rehearsed. Rehearsal allows memories to be consolidated and be placed in long-term memory where they can be later retrieved and placed in working memory. Long term-memory are memories that can be retrieved with a hint or cue (Reisberg, 2013)

The key to intentional forgetting is what happens when memories are retrieved. The importance of retrieval has been demonstrated in studies that compare recall and recognition memory tasks. Success on either kind of task requires that items be encoded and stored. Whereas recall tasks require active search and retrieval of a memory, recognition tests present the studied item as a direct cue to memory. That item needs only to be checked against whatever representation is stored. Because the directed forgetting eVect is strong on recall tasks but weak or absent on recognition tasks, theorists have concluded that retrieval inhibition, rather than unlearning, is key to intentional forgetting (Bjork, 1989; Geiselman, Bjork, & Fishman, 1983; but see

However, he will not be able to recall learning the tasks or be able to remember the test materials. Due to predicted challenges with free recall but average recognition memory, it hypothesized that UB’s results will suggest that he has problems with retrieval. Additionally, UB will likely have deficits in long-term memory based on his anterograde amnesia.

Miller (1956) though that through short-term memory only 7 (plus or minus two) items could be remembered due to his belief that there is a certain amount of 'slots' that information can go into. This means that using this study we can estimate that 7 (plus or minus two) item will be recollected from each list using short-term memory. However if information can be grouped

Second, short-term memory remains in the brain for a short period of time, maybe 25 seconds unless it is reiterated over and over again to be preserved longer in the

Fawcett, Lawrence & Taylor (2006) focused on whether deliberate forgetting of certain memories would impact the probability of recovering it later from long-term memory. The participants were fifteen females and five male undergraduate students who

The topic of memory was fascinating, it started with the jigsaw sharing of the process of memory(encoding->storage->retrieval). It reminded me of project MK ULTRA, a CIA project designed to control the mind. Such technique included altering memories of subjects and implanting false memories for subjects to assist America in espionage activities.

Second, short term memory. What is short term memory? According to the textbook, short term memory is defined as the working memory, and in the glossary, it says; “memory that holds information briefly before it is stored and forgotten” (Chapter 7 Memory. and In Holt Psychology; Principles in Practice (pp. 161-166)]. What this means is that short term memory is the second step before long term memory. You use short term memory every day. For example, when you need to call someone and you have the phone number in your mind, it is in your short term memory. You probably need to write it down before the thought, or the phone number, disappears or fades from your short term memory. But, short term memory has its drawbacks. When you study for a test, the information will probably be transferred to your short term memory. When you’re done taking the test, the study information will disappear, because you don’t need the information for the test, and plus, it’s in your short term memory Sensory memory also branches off into iconic and echoic memory, which are the following; ionic memory is the buffer for when incoming visual information is stored as a picture or icon. Echoic memory stores sound.