Ebbinghaus

• Ebbinghaus


  The first person to scientifically study forgetting in the late 1800s
• Ebbinghaus


  The first person to scientifically study forgetting in the late 1800s
• Ebbinghaus' study of forgetting

  1. Learned a series of lists comprising 13 letter nonsense syllables

  2. Recited them all without error on two successive occasions

  3. Tested recall for each list after a specific time had elapsed from the initial learning

  4. Repeated this process with different delay periods ranging from 20 minutes to 31 days
• Ebbinghaus used nonsense words because they have no meaning or personal associations, controlling for extraneous variables
• Ebbinghaus' findings


  • 20 minutes after initial learning, he could recall 58% of the nonsense syllables
  • After 1 hour, his retention was 44%
  • A day later, he could recall 34%
  • A week later, he could recall 21%
• Forgetting curve


  The curve generated by Ebbinghaus' data, showing the pattern (rate and amount) of forgetting that occurs over time
• The forgetting curve shows that forgetting is rapid soon after the original learning, then the rate of memory loss gradually declines, followed by stability in the memories that remain
• Virtually all material that will be forgotten is lost in the first 8 hours (about 65%)
• Info that is not quickly forgotten seems to be retained in memory over a long period
• Increasing initial learning time increases retention, but forgetting occurs at the same rate
• Spaced learning


  Ebbinghaus argued that each subsequent repetition increases the time needed before the next one
• Overcoming the forgetting curve with repetitions

  1. Repetitions of information strengthen memory

  2. Initial repetition should occur within the first day of learning

  3. Reviewing information multiple times enables retaining larger chunks of information

  4. Forgetting curve flattens out at a much higher level, so forgetting occurs at a slower pace

  5. Periodic review is required to retain knowledge and fully embed learned material into long-term memory
• Spaced out learning is much more effective than massed learning (cramming information into a short period)