Forgetting is relentless.

Within one hour you can forget up to 50% of something you have just learned.

There seem to be several causes for this.  Check out the causes below.

SELECTIVE ATTENTION :

• You didn't pay attention to the sensory information.

PSEUDO FORGETTING :

• You never really learned the information initially!
• You may have noticed the information and even held it briefly in your short-term memory.
• You never rehearsed the information for storage in long-term memory.

                Think about a recent exam :
             Was there anything you knew you had seen but just couldn't recall?
             Maybe you read the material but didn't go back to review it. Or maybe you
             reviewed it but didn't try to say it in your own words. Or maybe you
             learned the formula but didn't use it enough.

                Your learning was incomplete. You never really had it.

DECAY THEORY :

• You didn't review or use the information, so it faded away.
• The neutral trace that formed the memory gradually decayed and disappeared.

                Remembering requires frequent review.

INTERFERENCE :

• Something you already know interferes with what you are trying to learn.
• Or what you are learning now makes you misremember something that you already know.

                Interference gets you confused.
             This happens a lot, especially with similar kinds of information that you
             haven't totally digested.

Practical Tips For Improving Memory>>

AAC Home  l  Study Tips Home   l  Keeping Up  l  GPA Tools  l  Memory
Time Management  |  Handling Reading  l  Lecture Notes  l  Exam Prep  l  Concentration

Please send revisions for this Website to: ucc@ohio.edu
Last edited on Barnett
Copyright © 2013 Ohio University / University College Communications