What is the forgetting curve?

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

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

Traditionally, a large amount of research on memory and its processes, including forgetting, has been carried out from psychology. One of the studies that began the study of forgetting was carried out by Hermann Ebbinghaus, which developed what is known as the forgetting curve.

What is oblivion?

The concept of forgetting refers to the loss of accessibility to the information previously processed in memory, and this forgetting can occur due to many different circumstances. Generally this phenomenon is due to deviations of attention, or to the simple passage of time, although

 forgetfulness may occur as a way to block a stressful situation or due to the presence of some type of disorder, be it organic or psychological.

Although on a conscious level it seems somewhat 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 neither need nor need. we employ, so that we ignore the details and circumstantial elements in order to allow us to focus on the core of the trouble. 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 situations of great emotionality) all the stimuli that were present in that situation, but the main idea, because we have allowed the forgetting of the most important elements contextual.

One of the first studies that were carried out regarding this phenomenon was the one that led to the elaboration of the forgetting curve, which has subsequently been explained through various theories. Let us proceed to explain how this 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 It is well known within the world of psychology due to its wide 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 it.

His studies led him to carry out a series of experiments, with himself as an experimental subject, in which he worked from repetition to memorization of series of syllables that were repeated until their perfect memorization, and later evaluating the level of retention of said material over time without performing any review of the same.

Through the results of the experiments carried out, Ebbinghaus outlined the well-known forgetfulness curve, a graph that indicates how before the memorization of a certain material the level of retention of the learned information decreases logarithmically with the passage of the weather. This forgetting curve was made through the saving method through which the time necessary to relearn the list is subtracted from the time necessary to learn it for the first time. Through this curve, a comparison can be made between the material that is initially processed and the one that is kept in the memory.to. 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 in the forgetting curve indicate that after the moment of acquisition of the information the level of material memorized dropped drastically in the first moments, with more than half of the material learned in the first moments being able to fade from consciousness. day. After this the material continues to fade, but the amount of information that is forgotten in a given time goes decreasing to a point, approximately from the learning week, in which there is no major lost. However, the material that is retained after this time is practically nil, so the time taken to relearn it can be very similar to the initial one.

Some notable aspects that can be seen from the forgetting curve is that, at all times, less is needed time to relearn a material than to learn it from scratch, even in the fragments that have faded from the memory. In this way, this together with other investigations by various authors help to show that in the process of forgetting the information does not vanish from the mind, but rather passes to an unconscious level that allows recovery through effort and review.

Explanations derived from Ebbinghaus theory

The forgetting curve is a graph that allows taking into account the progressive loss of previously memorized material, as long as the review of said material is not practiced.

From the observations that led to its realization, different theories have arisen that attempt to explain this loss, two of them being the following.

1. Footprint decay theory

The theory of the decay of the footprint is a theory elaborated by the own Ebbinghaus that tries to explain the curve of the forgetfulness. For the author, the loss of information is mainly due to the little use given to said information, with which the memory trace left in our body weakens and fades with the passage of weather. At the biological level, it is considered that the neuronal structures end up losing the modifications that learning produces in them, which would return to a state similar to that prior to learning.

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

However, this theory is criticized for the fact that it does not take into account various factors, such as the fact that new material appears that makes access to information difficult. In addition, there are very diverse variables that influence the ability to remember, such as the amount of material to be remembered or the emotional significance of the processed information. Thus, the greater the amount of material, the greater the difficulty of maintaining it over time and in the event that knowledge awakens sensations and emotions strong 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 footprint was not enough to explain the process of forgetting. Taking into account that the human being is constantly learning new things, an element that said authors considered that not taken into account are the problems caused by the overlap of new or old knowledge with the material learned.

Thus arose the theories of interference, which state that the information to be learned is lost because other information interferes with access to it.

Such interference can occur retroactively or proactively. In the case of proactive interference, previous learning makes it difficult to acquire a new one. Although it does not properly explain the forgetfulness, but a problem in encoding the information. Retroactive interference is what produces the presence of new knowledge that overlaps the material to be remembered. Thus, learning something new makes it difficult for us to remember what was 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 forgetting has allowed the creation of different strategies and techniques in order that the learnings are kept in memory. To avoid the effects observed in the forgetting curve, it is essential to review the material learned.

As the experiments carried out have already shown, the repeated review of the information makes the learning is consolidated more and more, progressively reducing the level of information loss with the weather.

The use of mnemonic strategies is also very useful, by improving the capacity for mental representation. The point is to use in a more efficient way the resources available to the nervous system itself to group the 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 reach by recalling a more varied variety of experiences. For example, if we associate a word with a cartoon character that has a similar name, the string of phonemes that form that proper name will help us so that what we want comes to mind 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 cannot.

• Related article: "11 tricks to remember better when studying"

Conclusion: the limits of memory

Investigations on the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve provided the first scientific evidence about the limits of memorization, before experiments could be carried out in the field of neurosciences. Knowing these limitations allows us to use more effective learning techniques.

Bibliographic 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. Ed. Mc. Graw Hill. Madrid.
• Baddeley, A.; Eysenck, M. W. & Anderson, M. C. (2010). Memory. 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.