nFactors influencing Forgetting:

1. Decay through disuse or Theory of Decay:

Forgetting is a process of fading of the learnt matter with passage of time. According to this

view, the vivid impressions created in the cerebral cortex fade away as time passes. Such fading

or decay could be the result of the normal metabolic processes of the brain. As time passes,

these processes might cause the traces of material once learned to disintegrate gradually and

eventually to disappear altogether.

2. Interference of Association or Theory of interference:

Here we see that forgetting is not caused just by fading away of traces, but by influence of the

intervening activities.

a. Retroactive interferences: Here new learning works backward & interferes with old

learning.

b. Proactive Inhibition or Interference: Here what we have learnt previously interferes

with the new learning. Forgetting in our daily life is more due to proactive interference; our

ability to recall what we have learnt is reduced by experiences previously learnt.

3. Interference of Association or Theory of interference:

Here we see that forgetting is not caused just by fading away of traces, but by influence

of the intervening activities. a. Retroactive interferences: Here new learning works backward &

interferes with old learning. b. Proactive Inhibition or Interference: Here what we have learnt

previously interferes with the new learning. Forgetting in our daily life is more due to proactive

interference; our ability to recall what we have learnt is reduced by experiences previously

learnt.

4. Emotions: Rise in emotions like fear or anger or love lead to forget the learned

experiences e.g. a student afraid of a teacher may forget what has been learnt.

5. Change of stimulus conditions: we may have learnt in a specific environment, but we

forget in the changed environment e.g. we can say the speech well at home but in front of the

audience, we are unable to speak.

6. Change of stimulus conditions: we may have learnt in a specific environment, but we

forget in the changed environment e.g. we can say the speech well at home but in front of the
audience, we are unable to speak.

7. Defective mental state, fatigue, lack of interest or willingness all lead to forgetting