Memory researchers certainly haven’t forgotten Hermann Ebbinghaus, the
first person to do scientific studies of forgetting, using himself as a subject. He spent a lot
of time memorizing endless lists of nonsense syllables and then testing himself to see whether
he remembered them. He found that he forgot most of what he learned during the first few hours
after learning it.
Later researchers have found that forgetting doesn’t always occur that
quickly. Meaningful information fades more slowly than nonsense syllables. The rate at which
people forget or retain information also depends on what method is used to measure forgetting
and retention. Retention is the proportion of learned information that is retained
or remembered—the flip side of forgetting.
Measures of Forgetting and Retention
Researchers measure forgetting and retention in three different ways: recall,
recognition, and relearning.
Recall
Recall is remembering without any external cues. For example, essay
questions test recall of knowledge because nothing on a blank sheet of paper will jog the
memory.
