Describe three theories of forgetting

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An early view of forgetting was decay theory. Based on work by Hermann Ebbinghaus, this theory suggests that forgetting reflects the gradual deterioration of memory traces over time. Ebbinghaus's research showed that forgetting is rapid at first, but declines more gradually over time. Decay theory effectively explains
memory loss with the passage of time, but fails to indicate how other factors influence forgetting. Interference theory suggests that forgetting is the result of the interference of memories with each other. For example, proactive interference is when previously learned information interferes with more recent information. Retroactive interference is when more recent information interferes with previously learned information. Interference helps explain the serial position effect and primacy and recency effects. The serial position effect occurs when the first and last information in a list is remembered better than information in the middle of the list. Enhanced recall of the first information is called the primacy effect, whereas enhanced recall of the last information is called the recency effect. Another perspective is retrieval theory, which suggests that forgetting is the result of a failure to access stored memories. This can occur through encoding failure or from lack of retrieval cues. This theory helps
explain the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, in which people are certain they know something but cannot seem to bring it to mind.