forgetting

Have you ever wondered why we forget things? I am sure have studied hard for a test, and just could not remember the next day. Where did the information go? Let's find out!

One problem might be an encoding failure. What does this mean? It means that maybe the information never actually reached your long-term memory. Your long-term memory lets you keep a lot of information in your brain for days, weeks, and even years!

Another possibility is decay. Have you heard of tooth decay? Let's think of your brain like a tooth. Over time, your teeth break down. This happens with your memory, too. Over time, your memory decays and you forget information that you used to know.

Another possibility of why you might forget things is called retrieval failure. This means that you learned something, but you cannot pull up any record of it. This can happen because of interference. This happens when you learn something that gets in the way of trying to remember another thing.