Editing Forgetting curve (section)

== Increasing rate of learning ==
Hermann 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 other physiological factors such as [[Stress (biology)|stress]] and [[sleep]]. He further hypothesized that the basic forgetting rate differs little between individuals.  He concluded that the difference in performance 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]]).

[[File:ForgettingCurve.svg|thumb|Forgetting Curve with 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). He discovered that information is easier to recall when it's built upon things you already know, and the forgetting curve was flattened by every repetition. It appeared that by applying frequent training in learning, the information was solidified by repeated recalling.

Later research also suggested that, other than the two factors Ebbinghaus proposed, higher original learning would also produce slower forgetting. The more information was originally learned, the slower the forgetting rate would be.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Loftus|first1=Geoffrey R.|year=1985|title=Evaluating forgetting curves|url=http://faculty.washington.edu/gloftus/Downloads/LoftusForgettingCurves.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060910200647/http://faculty.washington.edu/gloftus/Downloads/LoftusForgettingCurves.pdf |archive-date=2006-09-10 |url-status=live|journal=Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition|volume=11|issue=2|pages=397–406|citeseerx=10.1.1.603.9808|doi=10.1037/0278-7393.11.2.397}}</ref>

Spending time each day to remember information will greatly decrease the effects of the forgetting curve. Some learning consultants claim reviewing material in the first 24 hours after learning information is the optimum time to actively recall the content and reset the forgetting curve.<ref name="uwaterloo.ca2">{{Cite web |url=https://uwaterloo.ca/counselling-services/curve-forgetting |title=Curve of Forgetting {{!}} Counselling Services<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2017-08-28 |archive-date=2017-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329184930/https://uwaterloo.ca/counselling-services/curve-forgetting |url-status=dead }}</ref> Evidence suggests waiting 10–20% of the time towards when the information will be needed is the optimum time for a single review.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pashler|first1=Harold|last2=Rohrer|first2=Doug|last3=Cepeda|first3=Nicholas J.|last4=Carpenter|first4=Shana K.|date=2007-04-01|title=Enhancing learning and retarding forgetting: Choices and consequences|journal=Psychonomic Bulletin & Review|language=en|volume=14|issue=2|pages=187–193|doi=10.3758/BF03194050|issn=1069-9384|pmid=17694899|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Some memories remain free from the detrimental effects of interference and do not necessarily follow the typical forgetting curve as various noise and outside factors influence what information would be remembered.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Averell|first1=Lee|last2=Heathcote|first2=Andrew|year=2011|title=The form of the forgetting curve and the fate of memories|journal=Journal of Mathematical Psychology|volume=55|pages=25–35|doi=10.1016/j.jmp.2010.08.009|hdl=1959.13/931260|hdl-access=free}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.trainingindustry.com/wiki/entries/forgetting-curve.aspx Forgetting Curve | Training Industry<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Some supporters, for example, suggest that memories of shocking events such as the [[John F. Kennedy assassination|Kennedy Assassination]] or [[September 11 attacks|9/11]] are vividly imprinted in memory ([[flashbulb memory]]).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Paradis|first1=C. M.|last2=Florer|first2=F.|last3=Solomon|first3=L. Z.|last4=Thompson|first4=T.|date=August 1, 2004|title=Flashbulb Memories of Personal Events of 9/11 and the Day after for a Sample of New York City Residents.|journal=Psychological Reports|volume=95|issue=1|page=309|doi=10.2466/pr0.95.1.304-310|pmid=15460385|s2cid=46013520}}</ref> Others have compared contemporaneous written recollections with recollections recorded years later, and found considerable variations as the subject's memory incorporates after-acquired information.<ref name="eyes2">{{cite journal|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-the-eyes-have-it|title=Why Science Tells Us Not to Rely on Eyewitness Accounts|doi=10.1038/scientificamericanmind0110-68 |website=Scientific American |date=January 2010 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> There is considerable research in this area as it relates to [[eyewitness identification]] testimony, and eyewitness accounts are found demonstrably unreliable.<ref name="eyes2" />