Memory Concepts and Theories

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anterograde amnesia

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the inability to form new memories

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retrograde amnesia

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an inability to retrieve information from one's past

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Herman Ebbinghaus (1850-1909)

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German philosopher who conducted pioneering memory studies

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Elizabeth Loftus

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Her research on memory construction and the misinformation effect created doubts about the accuracy of eye-witness testimony

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storage decay

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the course of forgetting is initially rapid, then levels off with time

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encoding failure

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the inability to recall specific information because of insufficient encoding of the information for storage in long-term memory

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retrieval failure

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the inability to recall long-term memories because of inadequate or missing retrieval cues

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Ebbinghaus forgetting curve

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the course of forgetting is initially rapid, then levels off with time

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proactive interference

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the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

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retroactive interference

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the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information