What is the forgetting curve?

A theory formulated by Hermann Ebinghaus that analyzes how we forget memories.

Forgetting. Nowadays most of us spend our lives making efforts to acquire new knowledge and skills, recording and encoding different information to retain in our memory, both consciously and unconsciously.

However, we often have to we have to review and practice what we have learned in order to retain it, or else it ends up fading away.. Although in some cases, such as traumatic events and depressions, we may wish that this knowledge or memories disappear (which on the other hand can make us retain them even more in our memory), in most cases forgetting occurs completely involuntarily.

Traditionally, psychology has conducted a great deal of research on memory and its processes, including forgetting. One of the studies that initiated the study of forgetting was the one carried out by Hermann Ebbinghauswho elaborated what is known as the forgetting curve.

What is forgetting?

The concept of forgetfulness refers to the loss of accessibility to the information previously processed in the memory, and this forgetfulness can occur due to many different circumstances. Generally this phenomenon is due to deviations of attention, or to the simple passage of time, although it is possible that forgetfulness may occur. it is possible that forgetfulness may occur as a way of blocking a stressful situation, or due to the presence of some or due to the presence of some kind of disorder, whether organic or psychological.

Although at a conscious level it may seem annoying and undesirable, the ability to forget fulfills an adaptive function. Through forgetting we are able to eliminate from our brain the information and concepts that we do not need or use, so that we ignore the details and circumstantial elements in order to allow us to focus on the core of the problem. When we remember a specific moment in our lives we do not usually remember in detail (except in very exceptional cases with photographic memory and/or highly emotional situations) all the stimuli that were present in that situation, but only the main idea, because we have allowed the most contextual elements to be forgotten.

One of the first studies carried out on this phenomenon was the one that led to the development of the forgetting curve, which has subsequently been explained through various theories. Let us proceed to explain how the forgetting curve was obtained and some of the explanatory theories derived from it..

Hermann Ebbinghaus and the curve of oblivion

The name of Hermann Ebbinghaus is well known in the world of psychology due to his great importance in the study of memory. This famous German psychologist contributed greatly to clarifying and studying the different processes involved in the retention of information, as well as in the loss or forgetting of information.

His studies led him to carry out a series of experiments, with himself as the experimental subject, in which he worked from repetition to memorization of series of syllables that were repeated until they were perfectly memorized, and subsequently evaluating the level of retention of such material over time without any review of the same.

Through the results of the experiments carried out, Ebbinghaus sketched the well-known forgetting curve, a graph that indicates how the level of retention of the information learned decreases logarithmically with the passage of time when memorizing a certain material. This forgetting curve was created by means of the saving method through which the time needed to relearn the list is subtracted from the time needed to learn it for the first time. Through this curve, a comparison can be made between the material that is initially processed and the material that is kept in memory.a. From the author's perspective, this loss is due to the passage of time and the non-use of the information.

The results of the experiments and their analysis on the forgetting curve indicate that after the moment of information acquisition the level of memorized material dropped drastically in the first moments, and more than half of the learned material could fade from consciousness during the first day. Thereafter, the material continues to fade, but the amount of information forgotten in a given time decreases until a point is reached, approximately one week into the learning period, when no further loss occurs. However, the material that is retained after this time is practically nil, so that the time taken to relearn it can be very similar to the initial one.

Some remarkable aspects that can be seen from the forgetting curve is that, at all times, it takes less time to relearn a material than to learn it from scratch, even in the fragments that have faded from memory. Thus, this and other research by various authors help to show that in the process of forgetting, the information does not fade from the mind, but rather unconscious level that allows its recovery by means of effort and repetition..

Explanations derived from Ebbinghaus' theory

The forgetting curve is a graph that allows us to take into account the progressive loss of previously memorized material, as long as we do not practice the review of such material.

From the observations that led to its realization, different theories have emerged that try to explain such loss, two of them being the following.

1. Theory of footprint decay

The theory of footprint decay is a theory elaborated by Ebbinghaus himself that aims to explain the forgetting curve.. For the author, the loss of information is mainly due to the little use given to this information, so that the memory trace left in our organism weakens and fades with the passage of time. At a Biological level, it is considered that neuronal structures eventually lose the modifications that learning produces in them, thus returning to a state similar to that prior to learning.

Research shows that memory decay occurs especially in short-term memory, but if the information manages to pass to long-term memory, it becomes permanent. If something stored in long-term memory is not accessible, the problem is mainly at the level of information retrieval.

However, this theory is criticized for the fact that it does not take into account several factors, such as the appearance of new material that makes it difficult to access the information. In addition, there are several variables that influence the capacity to remember, such as the amount of material to be remembered or the emotional significance of the information processed. Thus, the greater the amount of material, the greater the difficulty of maintaining it over time, and if the knowledge awakens strong sensations and emotions in the learner, it is easier for the memory to remain.

2. Interference theories

Several authors considered that the theory of the decay of the trace was not sufficient to explain the process of forgetting. Bearing in mind that human beings are constantly learning new things, one element that these authors considered that had not been taken into account were the problems caused by the overlapping of new or old knowledge with the learned material.

This gave rise to interference theories, which suggest that the information to be The information to be learned is lost because other information interferes with the access to it..

Such interference can occur retroactively or proactively. In the case of proactive interference, previous learning hinders the acquisition of new learning. However, it does not explain the forgetting itself, but rather a problem in encoding the information. Retroactive interference is produced by the presence of new knowledge that overlaps the material to be remembered. Thus, learning something new makes it difficult to remember what came before. This phenomenon would largely explain the loss of information that occurs in the forgetting curve.

How to avoid forgetting

The study of memory and forgetfulness has led to the creation of different strategies and techniques in order to keep learning in the memory. To avoid the effects observed in the forgetting curve, it is essential to review the learned material.

As demonstrated by the experiments carried out, repeated repetition of information makes learning more and more consolidated, progressively lowering the level of information loss over time.

The use of mnemonic strategies also proves to be very usefulby improving the capacity for mental representation. The idea is to make more efficient use of the resources available to the nervous system to group information units in a more efficient way. Thus, even if the brain loses neurons and other important cells over time, those that remain can communicate more efficiently, retaining important information.

But even in cases where there is no significant brain damage, mnemonic techniques help us mitigate the effects of the forgetting curve. The reason is that they help us create stronger units of meaning, which we can arrive at by recalling a wider variety of experiences. For example, if we associate a word with a cartoon character that has a similar name, the chain of phonemes that forms that proper name will serve as a support to help us remember what we want to remember.

In short, the forgetting curve is a universal phenomenon, but we have a certain margin of maneuver when it comes to establishing what can make us forget and what not.

Conclusion: the limits of memory

The research on the curve of forgetting of Ebbinghaus allowed to obtain the first scientific indications on the limits of the memorization, before experiments on the matter could be carried out in the field of the neurosciences. Knowing these limitations allows us to use more effective learning techniques..

Bibliographical references:

• Averell, L.; Heathcote, A. (2011). The form of the forgetting curve and the fate of memories. Journal of Mathematical Psychology. 55: 25 - 35.
• Baddely, A. (2007). Working memory, thought, and action. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Baddeley, A. (1999). Human memory. Theory and Practice. Mc. Graw Hill Ed. Madrid.
• Baddeley, A.; Eysenck, M. W. & Anderson, M. C. (2010). Memoria. Alliance.
• Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology. Teachers College, Columbia University. New York.
• Eysenck M.W., Eysenck M.C. (1980). Effects of processing depth, distinctiveness, and word frequency on retention. British Journal of Psychology. 71(2): 263–274.
• Schacter, D.L. (2002). The seven sins of memory: How the mind forgets and remembers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.