Ebbinghaus

• The role of repetition as seen in Ebbinghaus and the forgetting curve
• Ebbinghaus was the first person to scientifically study forgetting in the late 1800s
• Ebbinghaus's method of measuring forgetting

  1. Learned lists of nonsense syllables

  2. Tested recall after specific time

  3. Measured amount and rate of forgetting
• Controlled extraneous variable


  Nonsense words have no meaning or personal associations
• Delay periods ranged from 20 minutes to 31 days
• Ebbinghaus found that 20 minutes after the 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 pattern (rate and amount) of forgetting that occurs over time
• The graph shows that forgetting is rapid soon after the original learning
• The rate of memory loss then 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%)
• Information 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
• Overcoming the forgetting curve

  Repetitions of information
• Ebbinghaus showed that repeating and reviewing the acquired knowledge helps strengthen our memory
• The initial repetition of the information should ideally occur within the first day of learning
• Reviewing information multiple times will enable us to retain them for much longer
• Each time we revisit the same material, we retain larger chunks of information
• The forgetting curve will start flattening out at a much higher level with repeated review
• We have to periodically review the information to retain knowledge and fully embed the learned material into our long term memory
• Spaced learning


  Each subsequent repetition increases the time needed before the next one
• Using the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve with spaced learning

  1. Repetitions have to be spaced for optimal effect

  2. Avoid cramming

  3. Recall and retrieve information

  4. Repeat at strategically spaced intervals
• Repeating new facts many times within an hour is not useful in overcoming the forgetting curve
• If we are not required to make any attempt to recall and retrieve the information, the improvement is impossible
• If the information is repeated too infrequently, retention and recall will fail
• When material is repeated at strategically spaced intervals, the brain reconstructs the memory and strengthens it
• Specific time intervals between multiple learning sessions are essential
• Spaced out learning is much more effective than massed learning
• The massed learning technique turns out to be hugely counterproductive
• Spaced learning enables us to better manage the information that is retained and increase our long-term productivity