Why We Forget, and What We Can Do About It
Forgetting can be infuriating, particularly when you’re trying to learn a new skill or absorb vital information. But when you understand why you forget, you can take steps to prevent it, and make sure that what you learn, sticks! In this article, we explore The Forgetting Curve, an enduring model that demonstrates how memories are lost over time and what we can do to reinforce the things that we learn.
The Importance of Memory
Our brains are good at storing information that helps us to avoid physical or psychological harm
- We are particularly good at remembering the things that we need to know – details that are of vital importance to our survival
- However, many of the things we want to learn or that others need us to know can drop out of our memory all too easily
Tip: See our article, Memory Improvement Techniques, for a range of tried-and-true “mnemonic” techniques that can help you to improve your power of recall.
Purposeful Practice and the Conscious Competence Ladder are two strategies that can be used to help reinforce learning over time.
Keep Challenging Your Memory
If you’re imparting learning or information to an audience, or delivering training, make it as interactive as possible.
Key Points
The Forgetting Curve is an influential memory model that shows how learned information slips out of our memories over time unless we take action to keep it there
- It is important to revisit the information you’ve learned sooner rather than later
- Spaced learning
- Doing this will help reinforce your learning and improve your power of recall
- Other strategies you can use to improve your memory are: overlearning information, making what you want to learn meaningful, and challenging your memory regularly
Using Spaced Learning to Combat the Forgetting Curve
Even though our memory fades quickly, a review session soon after the original learning can improve it
- This session should happen when recall has slipped significantly, but hasn’t fallen so low that you’re essentially starting over
- Exactly how you time and space your review sessions will depend on a number of factors
Key Ideas
If we learn something new, but then make no attempt to relearn that information, we remember less and less of it as the hours, days and weeks go by
- The biggest drop in retention happens soon after learning
- It’s easier to remember things that have meaning
- Things with little or no meaning (like the nonsense syllables) conform most closely to the Forgetting Curve
- How you feel affects how well you remember
- Stress and sleep play a significant part in how well we retain information
Overlearn
Put in more than the usual amount of effort when you learn something.
Make Information Meaningful
Establish a strong reason for retaining it
Note 2: Some aspects of memory can change with age
Your short-term memory may feel weaker, for example, and it can be more challenging to learn completely new things.
- Ebbinghaus’ work showed that sensible strategies and good self-care can help to keep your memory strong.
How to Prevent Forgetting and Boost Your Memory
Four strategies you can use to improve your power of recall
- Ebbinghaus’ work paints a bleak picture of learning.
- In fact, his research highlighted several things we can do to retain information for longer.