Question

Which of the following best outlines the meaning of the forgetting curve?

A). The words in a list are remembered for longer if they are connected to each other through repeatedly reciting the words in a series.

B). The more time that has passed since presentation, the fewer words that can be accurately remembered.

C). There is a higher rate of memory failure for nonsensical words than actual words.

D). Words presented at the beginning and end of the list are recalled, while words presented in the middle are forgotten.

Answer 1

The forgetting curve, introduced by Hermann Ebbinghaus, describes how memory retention declines over time, with significant loss occurring within the first minutes to days of learning. It's influenced by factors such as encoding failure, interference, and the need for proper consolidation of information into long-term memory.

Step-by-step explanation:

The forgetting curve concept was introduced by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, which depicts the decline of memory retention over time. Ebbinghaus's studies involved memorizing lists of nonsense syllables and measuring retention at various intervals. He discovered that memory decay is rapid within the first 20 minutes, losing 50% of the memorized information, and after 24 hours, about 70% is forgotten. This reveals that memory for newly learned information fades swiftly and then levels out.Encoding failure and interference are among the contributors to forgetting. Short-term memory, for instance, is subject to these effects, as shown by the trigram experiments by Peterson and Peterson, and subsequent investigations by Keppel and Underwood. However, long-term memory (LTM) does not have a fixed limit and involves more complex organization and processing to aid retention, as demonstrated by Craik and Tulving's levels-of-processing framework.Various techniques can help in improving memory retention, such as verbal repetition, which adds distinctiveness to the information. Long-term storage requires consolidation, which can be facilitated by different memory-enhancing strategies. The forgetting curve is a crucial concept in understanding how and why our memories fade over time and emphasizes the importance of revisiting and reinforcing information to prevent memory decay.