Psychology: Forgetting; Nature, causes, theories and disorders

 

(ITP-16) Forgetting: Nature, causes, theories and disorders

Abstract: This article provides a comprehensive overview of forgetting, including its nature, causes, and related disorders. Forgetting is the inability to retrieve previously stored information from the memory, and it can happen due to various factors such as decay, interference, and retrieval failure.The article also explores various theories of forgetting, including decay theory, interference theory, and retrieval failure theory. Additionally, forgetting can be a symptom of disorders such as amnesia, Alzheimer's disease, and dementia. The article also provides techniques to improve memory retention, such as rehearsal, chunking, association, and visualization. Furthermore, factors such as age, stress, sleep deprivation, and medication can also influence forgetting. Finally, when forgetting becomes a problem, seeking professional help is important, as forgetting can be a symptom of depression, anxiety, and ADHD.Top of Form

Have you ever forgotten something important, like a friend's birthday or a meeting with your professor? Or perhaps you have struggled to recall an answer during a test, even though you studied extensively for it. These experiences are common and frustrating, but they are also part of a natural process known as forgetting.

What is forgetting?

Forgetting is the inability to retrieve information that was previously stored in the memory. This can happen for various reasons, including decay, interference, and retrieval failure. Decay refers to the gradual fading of memory traces over time. Interference happens when new information interferes with the retrieval of older information. Retrieval failure occurs when we are unable to access stored information due to inadequate cues or context.

Causes of Forgetting written in Theories:

Various theories have been proposed to explain the causes of forgetting. Here are some of the most prominent theories and their authors:

a.       Decay Theory by Ebbinghaus: This theory suggests that forgetting occurs due decay. Decay is the fading of memory traces over time. If we do not use or reinforce the memory traces, they will eventually be deleted.

b.      Interference Theory by Muller and Pilzecker: This theory suggests that forgetting occurs due to interference from other memories. Interference occurs when new information interferes with the retrieval of older information. Interference can happen in two ways:

·         Retroactive interference: new information interferes with the retrieval of old information.

·         Proactive interference: old information interferes with the retrieval of new information.

c.       Retrieval Failure Theory by Tulving and Thomson: This theory suggests that forgetting occurs due to Retrieval failure. Retrieval failure happens when we are unable to retrieve information due to inadequate cues or context. This can happen when we lack the necessary information or cues to access a particular memory.

d.      Motivated Forgetting Theory by Sigmund Freud: This theory suggests that forgetting occurs when we repress or suppress unpleasant or unwanted memories to protect ourselves from psychological harm.

e.      Encoding Failure Theory by Craik and Lockhart: This theory suggests that forgetting occurs due to inadequate encoding of information. If we do not encode information properly, it will not be stored in the memory.

Understanding these theories can help us better understand the nature of forgetting and develop strategies to improve memory retention.Top of Form

 

Disorders related to forgetting

Forgetting can also be a symptom of various disorders, such as:

1. Amnesia: Amnesia is a condition where an individual is unable to remember past events or form new memories. It can be caused by head injuries, strokes, or degenerative diseases.

·         Retrograde amnesia is a type of amnesia where a person is unable to remember events that occurred before the onset of amnesia.

·         Anterograde amnesia, on the other hand, is a type of amnesia where a person is unable to form new memories after the onset of amnesia.

2. Alzheimer's Disorder: Alzheimer's Disorder is a progressive brain disorder that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. It is the most common cause of dementia in older adults.
3. Dementia: Dementia is a general term for a decline in cognitive function that interferes with daily life. It can be caused by various conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease.

How to improve memory retention

Although forgetting is a natural process, there are various techniques that can improve memory retention, such as:

1. Rehearsal: Rehearsal involves repeating information to reinforce memory traces.
2. Chunking: Chunking involves grouping information into smaller units to make it easier to remember.
3. Association: Association involves linking new information to existing knowledge or memories.
4. Visualization: Visualization involves creating mental images to aid memory retention.

Factors of Forgetting: Forgetting can be influenced by various other factors such as age, stress, sleep deprivation, and medication.

·         As we age, our memory and ability to retain new information may decline.

·         Stress and sleep deprivation can also affect memory, as they can interfere with the encoding and consolidation of new information in the memory.

·         Certain medications such as tranquilizers, sedatives, and antihistamines can also affect memory and lead to forgetting.

Forgetting is not always bad: It is important to note that forgetting is not always a bad thing. In fact, forgetting can be a useful process that helps us filter out irrelevant information and focus on what is important. Forgetting also allows us to update our knowledge and adapt to new situations.

Professional help for Forgetting: When forgetting becomes a problem and interferes with daily life, it is important to seek professional help. Forgetting can be a symptom of various disorders such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD. These conditions can affect memory and lead to forgetting, along with other symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, low mood, and anxiety.

Conclusion:

In summary, forgetting is a natural process that can occur due to various reasons. Memory is a complex system that can be influenced by various factors. Understanding the causes of forgetting and the techniques to improve memory retention can help in retaining important information. However, when forgetting becomes a problem and interferes with daily life, it is important to seek professional help.

References:

1. Alzheimer's Association. (2021). Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Retrieved from https://www.alz.org/
2. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
3. Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 2, 89-195.
4. Baddeley, A. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417-423.
5. Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 8, 47-89.
6. Craik, F. I., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(6), 671-684.
7. Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. New York: Dover.
8. Freud, S. (1899). Screen memories. The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, 3, 301-322.
9. Kandel, E. R., Schwartz, J. H., & Jessell, T. M. (2000). Principles of neural science (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
10. Loftus, E. F., & Palmer, J. C. (1974). Reconstruction of automobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memory. Journal of verbal learning and verbal behavior, 13(5), 585-589.
11. Muller, G. E., & Pilzecker, A. (1900). Experimentelle beitrage zur lehre vom gedachtniss [Experimental contributions to the theory of memory]. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 24, 1-300.
12. Ranganath, C., & D'Esposito, M. (2001). Medial temporal lobe activity associated with active maintenance of novel information. Neuron, 31(5), 865-873.
13. Roediger, H. L., & McDermott, K. B. (1995). Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 21(4), 803-814.
14. Squire, L. R., & Zola-Morgan, S. (1991). The medial temporal lobe memory system. Science, 253(5026), 1380-1386.
15. Schacter, D. L. (2001). The seven sins of memory: Insights from psychology and cognitive neuroscience. American Psychologist, 56(3), 205-218.
16. Tulving, E. (1972). Episodic and semantic memory. In E. Tulving & W. Donaldson (Eds.), Organization of Memory (pp. 381-403). New York: Academic Press.
17. Tulving, E., & Thomson, D. M. (1973). Encoding specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory. Psychological review, 80(5), 352-373.

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Cognitive Psychology: Object Perception and the Five Senses

 

 (CP-10) Object Perception and the Five Senses

Object perception refers to the way our brain processes and interprets sensory information from the environment to form a meaningful representation of objects. The five senses - vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch - play a crucial role in object perception by providing the brain with the necessary sensory input. In this article, we will explore the different aspects of object perception and how each of the five senses contributes to it.

The Five Senses and Object Perception:

1. Vision: Vision is perhaps the most important sense for object perception, as it provides us with a rich and detailed representation of the external world. The retina in our eyes captures visual information and sends it to the visual cortex in the brain for processing. The visual cortex uses this information to recognize objects and interpret their features, such as shape, size, and color.

Visual illusions, such as the Müller-Lyer illusion or the Ponzo illusion, demonstrate how our brain interprets visual information based on past experiences and expectations. Object recognition is another important aspect of visual perception, as it allows us to quickly identify objects in our environment.

2. Hearing: Hearing is another important sense for object perception, as it allows us to localize and recognize sounds in our environment. The ear captures sound waves and sends them to the auditory cortex in the brain for processing. The auditory cortex uses this information to determine the direction and distance of sound sources and to recognize familiar sounds, such as voices or musical instruments.

Sound localization is an important aspect of auditory perception, as it helps us navigate and interact with our environment. Object recognition is also important for auditory perception, as it allows us to recognize sounds that are associated with specific objects or events.

3. Smell: Smell, or olfaction, is a sense that is often overlooked but plays a crucial role in object perception. The olfactory receptors in our nose capture airborne molecules and send them to the olfactory cortex in the brain for processing. The olfactory cortex uses this information to identify and interpret different smells.

Odor identification is an important aspect of olfactory perception, as it allows us to recognize and distinguish between different scents. Object recognition is also important for olfactory perception, as certain smells are associated with specific objects or events.

4. Taste: Taste, or gustation, is another sense that is often overlooked but plays an important role in object perception. The taste receptors on our tongue capture different chemicals in the food we eat and send signals to the gustatory cortex in the brain for processing. The gustatory cortex uses this information to identify and interpret different tastes.

Taste identification is an important aspect of gustatory perception, as it allows us to recognize and distinguish between different flavors. Object recognition is also important for gustatory perception, as certain tastes are associated with specific objects or events.

5. Touch: Touch, or somatosensation, is the sense that allows us to perceive pressure, temperature, and texture. The tactile receptors in our skin capture sensory information and send it to the somatosensory cortex in the brain for processing. The somatosensory cortex uses this information to recognize objects based on their texture, shape, and size.

Texture discrimination is an important aspect of tactile perception, as it allows us to distinguish between different objects based on their surface features. Object recognition is also important for tactile perception, as it allows us to recognize objects based on their shape and size.

Multisensory Integration in Object Perception:

Multisensory integration refers to the way our brain combines sensory information from different senses to form a coherent representation of objects. For example, seeing a cup and hearing it being filled with water helps us form a more complete and accurate representation of the cup.

Multisensory integration plays a crucial role in object perception and is essential for everyday life. For example, when we hear a car beeping, we can immediately turn our head to locate the source of the sound. This is because our brain combines the auditory information from the sound with visual information from our peripheral vision to form a complete representation of the environment.

Another example of multisensory integration in object perception is the McGurk effect, where the brain integrates visual and auditory information to perceive a different sound than what is actually being heard. This effect occurs when the mouth movements of a speaker do not match the sounds they are producing, causing the brain to perceive a different sound that matches the mouth movements.

Disorders of Object Perception:

Disorders of object perception are conditions where the brain has difficulty processing and interpreting sensory information from the environment. Some common disorders of object perception include:

1. Visual Agnosia: A condition where the brain has difficulty recognizing and identifying objects, even though the person may have normal vision.
2. Auditory Agnosia: A condition where the brain has difficulty recognizing and interpreting sounds, even though the person may have normal hearing.
3. Anosmia: A condition where the brain has difficulty processing and interpreting smells, leading to a loss of sense of smell.
4. Ageusia: A condition where the brain has difficulty processing and interpreting tastes, leading to a loss of sense of taste.
5. Somatosensory Agnosia: A condition where the brain has difficulty recognizing and interpreting touch sensations, leading to difficulty identifying objects based on their texture or shape.

Conclusion

In conclusion, object perception is a complex process that involves the integration of sensory information from the five senses. Each sense plays a unique role in object perception, and multisensory integration is essential for forming a complete and accurate representation of objects in the environment. Understanding how the brain processes sensory information can help us better understand disorders of object perception and develop interventions to improve object recognition and everyday functioning.

Related links:

(CP-01) The Nature and Scope of Cognitive Psychology

(CP-02) Historical perspectives of cognitive psychology

(CP-03) Neural representation of information in the brain with respect to cognitive psychology

(CP-04) Organization of the brain and neural localization of function

(CP-05) Brain and Neural Localization of Function for Cognition

(CP-06) Information coding in visual cells

(CP-07) Memory and Types of Memory

(CP-08) Pattern Recognition, Template Matching and Feature Analysis

(CP-09) Perceptual Laws of Organization

(CP-10) Object Perception and the Five Senses

References:

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2. Bremner, A. J. (2017). Object perception. In The Oxford handbook of perceptual organization (pp. 163-180). Oxford University Press.
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4. Driver, J., & Noesselt, T. (2008). Multisensory interplay reveals crossmodal influences on 'sensory-specific' brain regions, neural responses, and judgments. Neuron, 57(1), 11-23.
5. Goldstein, E. B. (2019). Sensation and perception. Cengage Learning.
6. Gori, M., Del Viva, M., Sandini, G., & Burr, D. C. (2008). Young children do not integrate visual and haptic form information. Current Biology, 18(9), 694-698.
7. Jones, K. T., & Byram, A. C. (2014). A review of multisensory perception in education. In Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 611-622). Springer.
8. Kayser, C., & Logothetis, N. K. (2007). Do early sensory cortices integrate cross-modal information? Brain Structure and Function, 212(2), 121-132.
9. Kravitz, D. J., Saleem, K. S., Baker, C. I., & Mishkin, M. (2011). A new neural framework for visuospatial processing. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12(4), 217-230.
10. McGurk, H., & MacDonald, J. (1976). Hearing lips and seeing voices. Nature, 264(5588), 746-748.
11. Olofsson, J. K., & Gottfried, J. A. (2015). The muted sense: Neurocognitive limitations of olfactory language. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(6), 314-321.
12. Ramachandran, V. S. (1994). Perception of shape from shading. Nature, 331(6152), 163-166.
13. Tse, P. U. (2019). Visual attention: The past 25 years. Vision Research, 156, 1-8.
14. Zatorre, R. J., & Jones-Gotman, M. (2000). Functional imaging of the chemical senses. In The chemical senses (pp. 381-394). Springer.

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