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The Forgetting Curve

CPD: Cognitive Science Level 1, topic 2.1.3

Ebbinghaus' Experiment

In 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus used himself as the subject of a study about memory strength.

Methodology

Methodology

  • Ebbinghaus randomly generated thousands of nonsensical words and attempted to memorise them all.
  • He repeatedly tested his own ability to recall the words at different time points.
  • His performance can be represented in a graph.
Results

Results

  • This graph is now called "The Forgetting Curve".
  • The results of the experiment showed that, although performance may be very good right after practice, it will rapidly decrease with time.
  • However, if practised over and over again, the information will be forgotten more and more slowly.
  • In conclusion, the more a piece of content is revisited, the less likely it is it will be forgotten.
The forgetting curve

The forgetting curve

  • The red curve shows the loss of memory when the content has not been revisited.
  • Each subsequent curve shows memory loss after revisiting the next day.

Factors Influencing the Forgetting Curve

Some factors can modify the rate of forgetting.

Factors

Factors

  • The relevance of the information.
  • Emotional characteristics of the information to be learned.
  • Age of person.
  • Type of information being learned.
Reducing the amount of forgetting

Reducing the amount of forgetting

  • Some techniques can be used to reduce the rate of forgetfulness.
  • Linking the to-be-remembered information to prior knowledge or personal experiences.
  • Revisiting past topics (original conclusion by Ebbinghaus)
  • Frequent low-stake quizzes

Test yourself on The Forgetting Curve

  • On whose experiment is the forgetting curve based?

  • When was Ebbinghaus' experiment published for the first time?

  • Which are true about Ebbinghaus' experiment?

  • Is this the correct shape of the forgetting curve on a positive linear scale?

  • Which of these effective techniques was originally proposed by Ebbinghaus?

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