8 Main Causes of Forgetting

The following points highlight the eight main causes of forgetting. The causes are: 1. Inadequate Impression at the Time of Learning 2. Laps of Time 3. Interference 4. Lack of Rest and Sleep 5. Poor Health and Defective Mental State 6. Nature of the Material Learned 7. Methods Used to Learn 8. Raise in Emotion.

Cause # 1. Inadequate Impression at the Time of Learning:

The reason for inadequate impression is lack of attention and inadequate learning will is necessary for good memory. Forced learning results in no learning because forced learning distracts our attention.

Cause # 2. Laps of Time:

With the passage of time what is learned or experienced is for­gotten. This is a passive decay. The memory traces formed in the brain gets faded and becomes weather with the passage of time.

Cause # 3. Interference:

One type of learning interface with the learning of another type is called theory of interference.

There are two types of interface, proactive interface and retroactive interface:

(a) Proactive interference:

When something learnt earlier distrusts recall of something you are learning how. In other words, it can be explained as the interference of past-learnt material in recalling the newly learnt material.

(b) Retroactive interference:

When learning now makes it harder to recall something you learned earlier. Here recently learnt material interferences in recalling of past-learnt material.

Cause # 4. Lack of Rest and Sleep:

Continuous learning without rest and sleep may lead to greater forgetting due to inefficient consolidation. Experimental studies have shown that sleep following learning favours retention, it has also been found that saving is definitely greater after sleep especially with 8 hours interval. Forgetting is slow during sleep.

Cause # 5. Poor Health and Defective Mental State:

Memory traces are essential for remembering only when we pay attention to the information that has to be stored can be saved but poor health and mental tension effect own attention, which in turn affects the effective learning and receiving.

Cause # 6. Nature of the Material Learned:

Amount of forgetting also varies with the nature of the material learned. Ebbing Hans and others have verified the fact that humans remember things that are meaningful better than things that are not.

Cause # 7. Methods Used to Learn:

Apart from the nature of the material we learn, systematic and efficient methods used in learning also influence our rate of forgetting.

Cause # 8. Raise in Emotion:

Emotion plays an important role in learning and forgetting. Sudden rise of emotions blocks the recall. During the high emotional state, blood sugar level is impaired. To maintain the balance internal gland produces cartisole that disturbs memory cells.

Hence we experience mental block leading to description in thinking, reasoning and perception, etc. For instance, students having the fear of examination cannot recall anything. Emotional shocks that occur during, before or after learning also have an impact on retention.

Apart from the external causes; internal causes, that is functional and organic factors, also cause forgetting. They are nothing but the condition that disturbs memory referred to as amnesia.

Amnesia is a condition in which memory is disturbed. The causes of amnesia are organic or functional. Organic causes include damage to the brain through trauma or disease or use of certain drugs. Functional causes are psychological factors such as defense mechanisms.

Amnesia may also be spontaneous, in the case of transient global amnesia. This global type of amnesia is more common in middle-aged to elderly people, particularly makes and usually lasts less than 24 hours. Types of amnesia are dissociative amnesia, childhood amnesia, psychogenic amnesia, global amnesia, etc..