Editing Forgetting (section)

{{Short description|Loss or modification of information encoded in an individual's memory}}
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 |caption         = The garden of oblivion, illustration for by [[Ephraim Moses Lilien|Ephraim Moses Lilr the I]]
 |symptoms        = Difficulty in remembering recent events, problems with language, disorientation, mood swings
 |complications   = [[Dementia]]
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'''Forgetting''' or '''disremembering''' is the apparent loss or modification of information already encoded and stored in an individual's short or [[long-term memory]]. It is a spontaneous or gradual process in which old [[memory|memories]] are unable to be recalled from memory storage. Problems with remembering, learning and retaining new information are a few of the most common complaints of older adults.<ref name="role of forgetting">{{cite journal|author1=Maddox, G. B.|author2=Balota, D. A.|author3=Coane, J. H.|author4=Duchek, J. M. |name-list-style=amp|year=2011|title=The role of forgetting rate in producing a benefit of expanded over equal spaced retrieval in young and older adults|journal=Psychology and Aging|volume=26|issue=3|pages=661–670|pmid=21463056|doi=10.1037/a0022942|pmc=3168729}}</ref> 
Studies show that retention improves with increased rehearsal. This improvement occurs because rehearsal helps to transfer information into long-term memory.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Wayne, W.|author2=McCann, D.|name-list-style=amp|year=2007|title=Psychology: Themes & Variety 2nd Canadian ed|publisher=Nelson Education Ltd: Thompson Wadsworth Publisher|isbn=978-0-17-647273-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/psychologythemes0002weit}}</ref>

[[Forgetting curve]]s (amount remembered as a function of time since an event was first experienced) have been extensively analyzed. The most recent evidence suggests that a [[power function]] provides the closest mathematical fit to the forgetting function.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://public.psych.iastate.edu/shacarp/Wixted_Carpenter_2007.pdf | title=The Wickelgren Power Law and the Ebbinghaus Savings Function | work=Psychological Science | access-date=August 31, 2016 | author=John T. Wixted | author2=Shana K. Carpenter | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408204641/http://public.psych.iastate.edu/shacarp/Wixted_Carpenter_2007.pdf | archive-date=April 8, 2016 }}</ref>