Memory (Part 7)

Deterioration of memory with the years may be part physiological, and part psychological, Weinland says. It is physiological when an old person forgets things he wants to remember, but it is psychological when he forgets things which have become unimportant to him.

Both factors contribute to the apparent fine memory for events of childhood and youth and poor memory for recent events.

Weinland tells us that, according to the evidence, brain damage is greater in its effect on memory of recent events, and in addition the present and future are frequently of less importance to old people who may find more satisfaction in remembering earlier happiness.

Loss of interest in life makes them dismiss memories of no importance, and then the ever present tendency to forget what we don't care about remembering takes over. But generalizations cannot be made; some old people remain mentally alert and suffer no serious memory loss, and they make up for such as there is by experience, accumulation of knowledge, ability to organize, and increased capacity to comprehend.

Weinland goes on to state that some forgetting is active, or defensive—selective, in order to clear the mind of material irrelevant to the immediate purpose. He reminds us that Pavlov found that associations can be unlearned.

Freud said we bar unpleasant things from consciousness, and sometimes complicate the forgetting—and betray ourselves—with what are known now as Freudian slips. He found that childhood experiences which had lasting and damaging effects but were apparently forgotten, had merely been repressed because they were too disturbing to be admitted, and that these incidents could be recalled with sufficient effort and encouragement.

Weinland reports that the theory that we forget unpleasant things has been tested, and that the findings indicate that usually pleasant things are remembered better than unpleasant things, but there is no great difference quantitatively. Further, both pleasant and unpleasant things are remembered better than indifferent things, and pessimists tend to remember unpleasant things and forget pleasant ones.

Repression, then, exists in one way or another. Amnesia is a complete escape through repression; this frequently proves to be disturbing and thus a motivation is created for recovery. Small-scale amnesia, or "blacking out," is often protective. Repression can also operate for reasons of pride, to avoid anxiety, and to make past memories more acceptable by alteration of the facts.

Memories fade more rapidly when they are not in use, or reviewed. (Here Weinland makes a distinction between recall and recognition; the former is lost much more quickly than the latter.) But the material learned is not altogether lost, for it can be relearned in less time than was necessary when the material was completely new.

In the course of his experimentation, Ebbinghaus found that forgetting begins rapidly and then slows down. Davis and Moore tested retention and found that material meaningful to the learner was remembered better. Nadorah Smith reported that with material retained for a long time the forgetting process is slowed down considerably.

E. J. Smith found retention high in motor acts; he explained this as due to the fact that greater organization is required for this sort of learning, and Weinland adds that since motor learning is often overlearning, retention is further aided.