Forgetting curve - wikipedia Forgetting curve This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. ( November 2009 ) A typical representation of the forgetting curve. The forgetting curve hypothesizes the decline of memory retention in time. This curve shows how information is lost over time when there is no attempt to retain it. A related concept is the strength of memory that refers to the durability that memory traces in the brain. The stronger the memory, the longer period of time that a person is able to recall it. A typical graph of the forgetting curve purports to show that humans tend to halve their memory of newly learned knowledge in a matter of days or weeks unless they consciously review the learned material. The forgetting curve supports one of the seven kinds of memory failures : transience, which is the process of forgetting that occurs with the passage of time. Contents 1 History 2 Description 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References History In 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus collected data to plot a forgetting curve. Today, we approximate forgetting with an exponential curve : R = e − t S, ( displaystyle R = e ^ ( - ( \frac ( t ) ( S ) ) ), ) where R ( displaystyle R ) is retrievability ( a measure of how easy it is to retrieve a piece of information from memory ), S ( displaystyle S ) is stability of memory ( determines how fast R ( displaystyle R ) falls over time in the absence of training, testing or other recall ), and t ( displaystyle t ) is time. Hermann Ebbinghaus ran a limited, incomplete study on himself and published his hypothesis in 1885 as Über das Gedächtnis ( later translated into English as Memory : A Contribution to Experimental Psychology ). Ebbinghaus studied the memorisation of nonsense syllables, such as `` WID '' and `` ZOF '' ( CVCs or Consonant - Vowel - Consonant ) by repeatedly testing himself after various time periods and recording the results. He plotted these results on a graph creating what is now known as the `` forgetting curve ''. From his discovery regarding the `` forgetting curve '', Ebbinghaus came up with the effects of `` overlearning ''. Essentially, if you practiced something more than what is usually necessary to memorize it, you would have effectively achieved overlearning. Overlearning ensures that information is more impervious to being lost or forgotten, and the forgetting curve for this overlearned material is shallower. In 2015, an attempt to replicate the forgetting curve with one study subject has shown the experimental results similar to Ebbinghaus ' original data. Description Ebbinghaus hypothesized that the speed of forgetting depends on a number of factors such as the difficulty of the learned material ( e.g. how meaningful it is ), its representation and physiological factors such as stress and sleep. He further hypothesized that the basal forgetting rate differs little between individuals. He concluded that the difference in performance ( e.g. at school ) can be explained by mnemonic representation skills. He went on to hypothesize that basic training in mnemonic techniques can help overcome those differences in part. He asserted that the best methods for increasing the strength of memory are : better memory representation ( e.g. with mnemonic techniques ) repetition based on active recall ( especially spaced repetition ). His premise was that each repetition in learning increases the optimum interval before the next repetition is needed ( for near - perfect retention, initial repetitions may need to be made within days, but later they can be made after years ). Later research suggested that, other than the two factors Ebbinghaus proposed, higher original learning would also produce slower forgetting. Spending time each day to remember information, such as that for exams, will greatly decrease the effects of the forgetting curve. Reviewing material in the first 24 hours after learning information is the optimum time to re-read notes and reduce the amount of knowledge forgotten. Some memories remain free from the detrimental effects of interference and do n't necessarily follow the typical forgetting curve as various noise and outside factors influence what information would be remembered. There is debate among supporters of the hypothesis about the shape of the curve for events and facts that are more significant to the subject. Some supporters, for example, suggest that memories of shocking events such as the Kennedy Assassination or 9 / 11 are vividly imprinted in memory ( flashbulb memory ). Others have compared contemporaneous written recollections with recollections recorded years later, and found considerable variations as the subject 's memory incorporates after - acquired information. There is considerable research in this area as it relates to eyewitness identification testimony. Eye witness accounts are demonstrably unreliable. See also Atrophy Spaced repetition Notes ^ Jump up to : Curve of Forgetting Counselling Services Jump up ^ Schacter, D.L. ( 2009 ). Psychology. New York : Worth Publishers. p. 243. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4292 - 3719 - 2. Jump up ^ Woźniak Piotr A., Gorzelańczyk Edward J. and Murakowski Janusz A. ( 1995 ) `` Two components of long - term memory. ''. Acta Neurobiol Experimentalis ( 1995 ) 55 ( 4 ) : 301 - 5. Pubmed ID ( PMID ) : 8713361 Jump up ^ `` Human Memory. Herman Ebbinghaus ''. Lecture notes in Psychology published at Dr. Bruce Abbott 's homepage at IPFW Jump up ^ Murre J.M.J., Dros J. ( 2015 ) `` Replication and Analysis of Ebbinghaus ' Forgetting Curve ''. PLOS ONE 10 ( 7 ) : e0120644. doi : 10.1371 / journal. pone. 0120644 Jump up ^ Loftus, Geoffrey R. ( 1985 ). `` Evaluating forgetting curves '' ( PDF ). Journal of Experimental Psychology : Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 11 ( 2 ) : 397 -- 406. doi : 10.1037 / 0278 - 7393.11. 2.397. Jump up ^ Averell, Lee ; Heathcote, Andrew ( 2011 ). `` The form of the forgetting curve and the fate of memories ''. Journal of Mathematical Psychology. 55 : 25 -- 35. doi : 10.1016 / j. jmp. 2010.08. 009. Jump up ^ Forgetting Curve Training Industry ^ Jump up to : `` Why Science Tells Us Not to Rely on Eyewitness Accounts ''. References `` Memory : A Contribution to Experimental Psychology -- Ebbinghaus ( 1885 / 1913 ) ''. Retrieved 2007 - 08 - 23. Schacter, Daniel L ( 2001 ). The seven sins of memory : how the mind forgets and remembers. Boston : Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0 - 618 - 21919 - 6. Baddeley, Alan D. ( 1999 ). Essentials of human memory. Hove : Psychology. ISBN 0 - 86377 - 544 - 6. Bremer, Rod. The Manual -- A guide to the Ultimate Study Method ( USM ) ( Amazon Digital Services ). Loftus, Geoffrey R. Journal of Experimental Psychology : Learning, Memory, and Cognition11. 2 ( Apr 1985 ) : 397 - 406. http://www.trainingindustry.com/wiki/entries/forgetting-curve.aspx Averell, Lee ; Heathcote, Andrew ( February 2011 ). `` The form of the forgetting curve and the fate of memories ''. Journal of Mathematical Psychology. 55 ( 1 ) : 25 -- 35. doi : 10.1016 / j. jmp. 2010.08. 009. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-the-eyes-have-it Human memory Basic concepts Encoding Storage Recall Attention Consolidation Neuroanatomy Types Sensory Echoic Eidetic Eyewitness Iconic Motor learning Visual Short - term `` The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two '' Working memory Intermediate Long - term Active recall Autobiographical Explicit Declarative Episodic Semantic Flashbulb Hyperthymesia Implicit Meaningful learning Personal - event Procedural Rote learning Selective retention Tip of the tongue Forgetting Amnesia anterograde childhood post-traumatic psychogenic retrograde transient global Decay theory Forgetting curve Interference theory Memory inhibition Motivated forgetting Repressed memory Retrieval - induced forgetting Selective amnesia Weapon focus Memory errors Confabulation False memory Hindsight bias Imagination inflation List of memory biases Memory conformity Misattribution of memory Misinformation effect Source - monitoring error Wernicke -- Korsakoff syndrome Research Art of memory Memory and aging Deese -- Roediger -- McDermott paradigm Exceptional memory Indirect tests of memory Lost in the mall technique Memory disorder Memory implantation Methods used to study memory The Seven Sins of Memory Effects of exercise on memory In society Collective memory Cultural memory False memory syndrome Memory and social interactions Memory sport Politics of memory Shas Pollak World Memory Championships Related topics Absent - mindedness Atkinson -- Shiffrin memory model Context - dependent memory Childhood memory Cryptomnesia Effects of alcohol Emotion and memory Exosomatic memory Flashbacks Free recall Involuntary memory Levels - of - processing effect Memory and trauma Memory improvement Metamemory Mnemonic Muscle memory Priming Intertrial Prospective memory Recovered - memory therapy Retrospective memory Sleep and memory State - dependent memory Transactive memory People Robert A. Bjork Stephen J. Ceci Susan Clancy Hermann Ebbinghaus Sigmund Freud Patricia Goldman - Rakic Jonathan Hancock Judith Lewis Herman HM ( patient ) Ivan Izquierdo Marcia K. Johnson Eric Kandel KC ( patient ) Elizabeth Loftus Geoffrey Loftus Chris Marker James McGaugh Paul R. McHugh Eleanor Maguire George Armitage Miller Brenda Milner Lynn Nadel Dominic O'Brien Ben Pridmore Henry L. Roediger III Steven Rose Cosmos Rossellius Daniel Schacter Richard Shiffrin Arthur P. Shimamura Andriy Slyusarchuk Larry Squire Susumu Tonegawa Anne Treisman Endel Tulving Robert Stickgold Clive Wearing Psychology Mind and brain Spaced repetition Concepts Spaced repetition Spacing effect Testing effect Forgetting curve Flashcard Memory Leitner system Incremental reading Study Software List of Flashcard software Anki Cerego Cobocards Course Hero Cram Cram.com Duolingo eSpindle Learning Hello English Memrise Mnemosyne OpenCards Quizlet Skritter SuperMemo Synap Practitioners Paul Pimsleur Sebastian Leitner Piotr Woźniak Researchers Hermann Ebbinghaus Thomas Landauer and Robert A. Bjork Cecil Alec Mace Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Forgetting_curve&oldid=818650106 '' Categories : Memory processes Hidden categories : Articles lacking in - text citations from November 2009 All articles lacking in - text citations Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Հայերեն Íslenska ქართული Magyar 日本 語 Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 4 January 2018, at 19 : 58. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who was one of the first to chart the course of forgetting over time
Answer: Hermann Ebbinghaus; Hermann Ebbinghaus; Hermann Ebbinghaus