Forgetting

Utkarsh Education

Forgetting

 Meaning and Definition of Forgetting

Generally when a learnt material or activity cannot be recalled, it is called forgetting. However, in psychological terminology, the facts, incidents or experiences that the brain retains in the form of memory traces and is unable to bring to the conscious mind again when needed this mental process is called forgetting. Some psychologists have term it negative memory also. Psychologists have defined forgetting in their on way, 

Munn has defined in his words: Forgetting is failing to retain or to be unable to recall what has been acquired.

Drever has defined in his words: Forgetting means failure at any time to recall an experience, when attempting to do so or to perform an action previously learned.

Causes of Forgetting

Psychologists have conducted studies to find out why the experiences, knowledge and activities that have been learnt are forgotten. On the basis of their studies, they have laid down some theories of forgetting which are called theoretical causes. They have also located some general causes, which are called general causes. We shall present them here in brief: 

Theoretical Causes

Psychologists have accepted three theoretical causes of forgetting: 

1. Theory of Disuse: The psychologists who favour this theory say that when an individual learns something, some memory traces are formed in his brain, and he memorizes the learnt material or activities with the help of these memory traces; however, if these are not repeated, these memory traces are erased with the passage of time and the individual forgets the learnt material or activities. Of course, an individual is not able to forget some motor skills, as riding a bicycle, driving a car, swimming, etc. even without practice over a long period of time. In addition to this, the material or activity that has been over-learnt by him, he does not forget that also, such as the national anthem learnt during childhood. Some bitter experiences are also remembered the whole life, as some fire accident, drowning in water, being insulted by somebody, etc.

2. Theory of Interference: The proponents of this theory say that the mental activities performed just before and after learning a new Content or activity interfere in its memorization. The first President of the Stanford University, D.S. Jordan commanded mastery over the names of  species of fishes, but as he learnt the name of an individual, he forgot the name of one species of fish. This interesting tale supports the concept of Interference in memorization. These interferences are of two types:

(i) Retroactive Inhibition: The newly learnt material affects the previously learnt material, even normal walking after learning also inhibits memorizing. Sleeping after learning has better results.

(ii) Proactive Inhibition: Under proactive inhibition, the previously learnt material interferes in learning the new material. It has been found in tests that proactive inhibition hinders less in recalling the meaningful material, but more in recalling meaningless material. 

If the material is learnt more than the limit, then retroactive and proactive inhibition becomes negligible.

3. Theory of Repression: According to Freud, an individual attempts to forget displeasing experiences in his life because they create anxiety whenever they are memorized. If the impulses that create anxiety are repressed fully and are prevented from coming into the consciousness, then it is called repression. The process of repressions is adopted by the individual himself, or it can be adopted directly by others. Many unnecessary things inculcate anxiety, fear, grief, etc., it is necessary to forget them. It is also necessary for some mentally ill individuals to forget, which is done by the repression process. 

General Causes

Following are the general causes of forgetting:

1. Ill-health: An individual forgets the learnt things due to ill-health.

2. Mental Illness: The learnt things are forgotten due to mental illnesses, mental instability, mental hurt, mental conflict, etc.

3. Nature of Learnt Material: If the learnt material is simple and meaningful, it is memorized over a long time; on the other hand, complex and meaningless material is forgotten soon.

4. Quantity of Learnt Material: If the quantity of learnt material is more, then there is a possibility of forgetting it fully or partially. This also depends on the nature of the material.

5. Methods of Learning: The material learnt by uninteresting methods is forgotten sooner.

 
6. Incomplete Learning: If a material is learnt incompletely, then it is forgotten sooner.

7. Time Interval: When a long interval of time has elapsed after having learnt a material and it is hardly used in the interval, then the material is generally forgotten.

8. Disuse: Disinterest, inattention and disuse of a material cause the forgetting of a material.

Means of Minimizing Forgetting

All those measures are adopted for diminishing forgetting which are applied for enhancing memory. These measures are as follows:

(1) A learner should be physically healthy.

(2) He should be free from mental illnesses. 

(3) He should be free from mental hurts and mental conflicts.

(4) The utility of the material to be learnt should be made clear to the learner.

(5) Most suitable methods should be used for learning.

(6) The learnt material should be repeated. 

(7) The teacher's behaviour should be favourable.

Importance of Forgetting in Education

Forgetting is a mental process contrary to memorization. Generally, memorization is important in the life of every individual, but forgetting is also useful in life. Accepting the importance of forgetting. Collins and Drever have written:

It is true that forgetting is the opposite of remembering, but from a practical point of view, forgetting is almost as useful as remembering.

Forgetting is also very important in the field of education. Its importance can be discussed in the following points:

(1) The memory capability of students is limited and only limited experiences can be retained in it; so it is necessary to retain new useful things and to forget useless things.

(2) A student learns new content in the class, if he does not forget the unsuitable material learnt in the class, then it is not possible to the new material and recall it when needed.

(3) If all experiences of life are accumulated in the brain of students, then they would be unable to organize them properly and it would become a burden for them.

(4) An individual succeeds in memorization when he accumulates useful things and forgets useless things: the existence of these two contradictory types of things would create a situation of mental conflict, which can make him forget even useful things.

(5) There are many such experiences and incidents in life which create suffering and tension, so it is better to forget such experiences and incidents.

 (6) It is very necessary to forget the past in order to improve the future life.