Forgetful Brain Slides Theories of Forgetting
Decay vs. Interference
The Schedule Challenge
Think back to two years ago. Can you recall your exact class schedule for **Tuesday morning**?
What was your first period class?
Who was the teacher?
Where were you sitting?
Why is this information so hard to retrieve?
Decay Theory
The Forgetting Curve
Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered that memory for new information fades **rapidly** at first, then levels off.
Core Assumption:
Memories leave a "trace" in the brain. If we don't use it, we lose it. Passage of time causes spontaneous fading.
100% Retention
Time
The Ebbinghaus "Forget-Me-Not" Curve
Interference Theory
Forgetting is NOT just about time; it's about **competition**. One memory gets in the way of another.
Proactive
Old disrupts New
Your old habits or information make it hard to learn something new.
Example: Writing 2025 on a check in January 2026.
Retroactive
New disrupts Old
New information makes it hard to recall what you previously knew.
Example: Learning a new phone number and forgetting your old one.
P.O.R.N.
P.O.
Proactive = Old interferes with new
R.N.
Retroactive = New interferes with old
Wait, is it time or competition? Let's test it.
The Forgetting Files Worksheet The Forgetting Files
Psychology Unit: Memory Distortion
Name: __________________________
LESSON 1 DECAY & INTERFERENCE
1
Paired-Association Task
Follow your teacher's instructions to complete the lists below. We are testing how List B affects your memory of List A.
LIST A (Original)
1. Apple - Table
2. River - Lamp
3. Cloud - Shoe
4. Train - Clock
5. Bread - Leaf
LIST B (New Learning)
1. Apple - Chair
2. River - Desk
3. Cloud - Sock
4. Train - Watch
5. Bread - Grass
Simulation Results & Reflection:
2
Diagnosis of Forgetting
Identify which theory best explains the forgetting in each scenario below. Explain your reasoning.
Scenario A: Marcus learned French in middle school. In high school, he takes Spanish. When he tries to remember a French word during a trip to Paris, he accidentally uses the Spanish word instead.
TYPE:
Proactive Retroactive Decay
Scenario B: Maya used the same computer password for three years. She finally changed it yesterday. Today, when she tried to log in, she kept typing her old password by mistake.
TYPE:
Proactive Retroactive Decay
Scenario C: An elderly woman is looking at her 1st-grade class photo. She realizes she can no longer remember the names of classmates she hasn't thought about in 70 years.
TYPE:
Proactive Retroactive Decay
Critical Thought
"Memory is not just about what we keep, but how the new and the old fight for space." Based on today's tasks, do you believe forgetting is mostly caused by the passage of time or the clutter of new information?
Forgetting Facilitation Guide Facilitation Guide
Lesson 1: Theories of Forgetting
Teacher Resource
Instructional Goal
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to differentiate between Decay Theory and Interference Theory (Proactive vs. Retroactive) by analyzing behavioral data from a classroom simulation and applying concepts to real-world scenarios.
The Hook (5-10 mins)
Ask students to write down their 1st-period class from two years ago. Most will struggle.
Guiding Questions: 1. Why can't you remember? Did the memory physically vanish (Decay)? 2. Or did other schedules you've had since then bury the old one (Retroactive Interference)?
Vocabulary
Decay: Physical trace fades over time.
Proactive: Old info blocks new. (P.O.)
Retroactive: New info blocks old. (R.N.)
Simulation: Paired-Association Task
01
Presentation of List A
Read List A aloud (or display it for 30 seconds). Ask students to memorize the word pairs. Immediately test them by saying the first word and having them write the second on a scratch paper (not the worksheet yet).
02
Introduction of List B (The Interference)
Now present List B. Note that the first words are the same as List A, but the paired words have changed (e.g., Apple-Table becomes Apple-Chair). Have them memorize this new list.
03
The Retroactive Test
Ask them to try and recall the paired words from List A. Students will likely struggle as the new pairs from List B "interfere" with their ability to retrieve the old ones. This is Retroactive Interference.
Common Misconceptions to Address:
Students often think all forgetting is decay. Point out that if decay were the only factor, we would forget everything at the same rate regardless of what we learn next.
Help them memorize the "PORN" mnemonic: Proactive Old, Retroactive New.
Clarify that Proactive Interference often happens with skill-based habits (driving a manual vs. automatic car).
Memory Architect Slides Memory Architects
The Reconstructive Nature of Recall
Game: Telephone
The Rules:
A complex 3-sentence story is whispered.
Each person repeats it exactly as they heard it.
Compare the final version to the start.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Was the story just "faded," or was it reshaped to make more sense?
Did details get added? Did "weird" parts get removed?
Recording vs. Reconstruction
The Recording Myth
Memory is NOT a video camera that records everything and plays it back perfectly.
The Reconstructive Reality
"Memory is an active process of construction."
We store fragments of info. When we retrieve it, we **build** the story back together, filling in gaps with logic.
Schemas: The Brain's Blueprints
A SCHEMA is a mental framework that helps us organize and interpret information.
When a memory has a gap, the brain looks at its "Restaurant Schema" or "Classroom Schema" to guess what probably happened.
"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are."
The "War of the Ghosts" (1932)
Bartlett asked British participants to read a Native American folk tale with unfamiliar cultural concepts.
Key Distortions Found:
Assimilation: Changing "canoes" to "boats."
Leveling: Omitting "weird" details.
Sharpening: Emphasizing familiar parts.
Recall became shorter, more coherent, and more "Western."
Meaning over Accuracy
Ghostly Gaps Activity Ghostly Gaps
Psychology Activity: Schema Distortions
Name: __________________________
The Reading Phase
You will be given 2 minutes to read a short, culturally specific story. Focus on the details. Do not take notes.
One night two young men from Egulac went down to the river to hunt seals and while they were there it became foggy and calm. Then they heard war-cries, and they thought: "Maybe this is a war-party". They escaped to the shore, and hid behind a log. Now canoes came up, and they heard the noise of paddles, and saw one canoe coming up to them. There were five men in the canoe, and they said: "What do you think? We wish to take you with us. We are going up the river to make war on the people."
One of the young men said: "I have no arrows." "Arrows are in the canoe," they said. "I will not go along. I might be killed. My relatives do not know where I have gone. But you," he said, turning to the other, "may go with them." So one of the young men went, but the other returned home... When the sun rose he fell down. Something black came out of his mouth. His face became contorted. The people jumped up and cried. He was dead.
A
Recall Task
After the distraction task, write down the story exactly as you remember it. Don't worry about being "perfect," just write what comes to mind.
B
Spot the Schema
Compare your recall to the original text. Did you use any of these?
Assimilation
Did you change "canoes" to "boats" or "seals" to "fish" to fit your culture?
Leveling
Did the story get shorter? Which "weird" details did you drop entirely?
Rationalization
Did you add a "logical" reason for why he died (e.g., "he was sick")?
C
Conclusion
Why does our brain do this?
How does this experiment prove memory is "reconstructive"?
Schema Secrets Teacher Guide Schema Secrets
Teacher Discussion Guide
SESSION 2
The Big Idea
This lesson shifts students' mental model of memory from retrieval (finding a file) to reconstruction (building a model). The core of this is Schema Theory—the idea that our existing knowledge dictates how we remember new information.
Essential Question:
If two people witness the same event but have different life experiences, will they remember the same thing?
Discussion Prompts
"Think of a time you and a friend argued about what 'actually happened' in a shared memory. Who was right? Why?"
"Why might our brains prioritize making a story 'coherent' over making it 'accurate'?"
Cracking the Bartlett Code
When reviewing the "Ghostly Gaps" activity, look for these specific "Schema Secrets" in student work:
01. Assimilation
Students often change "Seal Hunting" to "Fishing" or "Arrows" to "Guns/Knives." This is the brain forcing the unfamiliar into familiar schemas.
02. Leveling
The detail about the "black thing" coming out of his mouth is often lost because it doesn't fit a standard Western medical schema of death.
03. Sharpening
Students may over-emphasize the "War" aspect because it's a dramatic, familiar schema, even if they forget the spiritual context.
Teacher Tip: The "Office Schema" Demo
Show students a picture of an office for 30 seconds. Include unusual items (e.g., a skull, a picnic basket) and omit standard items (e.g., books). When asked to recall, students will often "remember" seeing books because their office schema told them they should be there.
Memory Glitch Slides The Memory Glitch
Misinformation & False Memories
The "Lost in the Mall" Study
"When you were five, you got lost in the local mall for an hour. An elderly woman in a blue coat helped you find your parents. You were crying and scared."
Elizabeth Loftus told this to participants. It never happened.
THE RESULT?
25% of participants "remembered" the event.
Some even added their own vivid details (the smell of the mall, the texture of the woman's coat).
The Misinformation Effect
"Our memories are not reliable snapshots of the past; they are malleable reconstructions."
— Elizabeth Loftus
The Misinformation Effect occurs when a person's recall of an episodic memory becomes less accurate because of post-event information.
EVENT
MISINFORMATION
DISTORTED MEMORY
Loftus & Palmer (1974)
Participants watched a video of a car accident and were asked:
"SMASHED" 40.8 mph
"COLLIDED" 39.3 mph
"CONTACTED" 31.8 mph
The Glitch:
One week later, those who heard "smashed" were twice as likely to "remember" seeing broken glass at the scene.
Reality: There was no broken glass in the video.
The Ethical Question
"If we can implant memories in humans for science, what stops others from doing it for power, politics, or profit?"
Interrogation
Can leading questions from police create false confessions?
Therapy
Can 'recovering' memories actually be 'creating' them?
Collision Course Case Study Collision Course
Psychology Case Study: Loftus & Palmer (1974)
Name: __________________________
Abstract
Elizabeth Loftus and John Palmer (1974) conducted an experiment to test how the wording of a question could change a person's memory of an event. Forty-five students watched seven films of car accidents and then filled out a questionnaire about what they had seen.
The Independent Variable:
The verb used in the critical question: "About how fast were the cars going when they [verb] each other?"
Key Verbs
Smashed
Experiment 1 Data: Speed Estimates
Verb Condition Mean Speed Estimate (mph) Smashed 40.8 Collided 39.3 Bumped 38.1 Hit 34.0 Contacted 31.8
1. Data Interpretation
Based on the table above, what is the relationship between the intensity of the verb and the participants' speed estimates?
2. Experiment 2: The "Broken Glass" Fallacy
In a follow-up, students were asked one week later: "Did you see any broken glass?" There was none. Those in the "Smashed" condition said "Yes" far more often. Explain how this demonstrates memory reconstruction rather than just "forgetting."
3. Real-World Application
If you were a defense attorney and a police officer asked a witness, "How fast was the defendant's car speeding when it totaled the victim's car?", how would you use Loftus's research to challenge the witness's testimony in court?
Loftus & Palmer (1974) Analysis Psychology Sequence: Unit 2 Case Archive #408
Truth Weaver Teacher Guide Truth Weaver
Ethics & Misinformation Teacher Guide
Facilitation Key
The Mechanism
Why does misinformation work? Loftus suggests two theories:
1. Memory Replacement: The original memory is overwritten by the new information.
2. Co-existence / Source Monitoring: Both memories exist, but the person cannot distinguish the source of each, eventually picking the more "vivid" or recent (and incorrect) one.
Teacher Talk: The Ethics Hook
"If I can make you believe you were lost in a mall, can I make you believe you committed a crime? Can I make you believe you love a certain food? Where does the 'self' go if our history can be rewritten by a stranger?"
Loftus & Palmer: Analysis Guide
Question 1 Key
Students should identify a direct correlation. Stronger verbs (Smashed) lead to significantly higher speed estimates. This proves language triggers different schemas.
Question 2 Key
The "broken glass" is crucial. It shows that the word choice didn't just bias the answer, it actually changed the visual memory itself.
Question 3 Key
Look for students mentioning "leading questions" and "suggestibility." The lawyer would argue the officer's wording "implanted" the idea of speed and severity.
Classroom Quick-Test: The Penny
Ask students to draw a penny from memory (which way does Lincoln face? Where is the date?). Most will fail despite seeing it thousands of times.
Connection: This is "Encoding Failure"—we don't remember what we don't pay attention to, which creates the "gaps" that misinformation fills later.
Ethical Note for Teachers
When discussing the "Lost in the Mall" study, be sensitive to students who may have actual trauma related to getting lost. Avoid "simulating" false memories on students without their consent; use the historical case studies as the primary vehicle for exploration.
Broken Archives Slides Broken Archives
Amnesia & Neurological Deficits
The 30-Second Life
Case Study: Clive Wearing
A world-class musician who suffered brain damage from a virus. He now has a memory span of only **7 to 30 seconds**.
"Every time he sees his wife, he greets her with the passion of a man who hasn't seen her in years—even if she only left the room for a minute."
IS HE STILL "HIM"?
If you lose your past and your future, what remains of your identity?
Amnesia: The Great Divide
PAST
Retrograde
Loss of memories from **before** the injury. The "Hollywood" version where you forget your name and family.
Can't look back.
FUTURE
Anterograde
Inability to form **new** memories after the injury. You are "stuck" in the moment forever.
Can't move forward.
Organic Memory Failure
The Hippocampus
The "Gateway." Responsible for consolidating short-term memories into long-term storage.
Alzheimer's
A progressive disease that destroys neurons and shrinks the brain, starting with the hippocampus.
Alcohol (Korsakoff)
Severe thiamine deficiency leads to brain lesions, often causing "confabulation" (making up stories to fill gaps).
The "Hidden" Memory
Clive Wearing can't remember his children's names, but he can still play the piano perfectly.
"Amnesia usually affects **Declarative Memory** (facts/events) but leaves **Procedural Memory** (skills) intact. The Cerebellum is often spared."
Memory is not one single thing.
Lost in Time Worksheet Lost in Time
Psychology Activity: Clinical Case Analysis
Name: __________________________
Retrograde
Past is Gone
The Event
Trauma / Surgery / Virus
Anterograde
Future can't start
Subject: H.M.
Clinical Profile 01
Henry Molaison (H.M.) underwent surgery to treat epilepsy, during which his hippocampus was removed. Afterward, he could remember his childhood perfectly, but could never again learn a new name, fact, or face. He lived for 50 years "waking up" in the same moment.
Primary Diagnosis:
Retrograde Anterograde
Reasoning:
Subject: L.B.
Clinical Profile 02
A patient suffered a severe concussion in a car accident. Upon waking, they could easily remember the hospital staff and form new memories, but they had no idea who they were, where they lived, or that they were married. They lost the three years of life leading up to the crash.
Primary Diagnosis:
Retrograde Anterograde
Reasoning:
The Identity Puzzle
Which type of amnesia is more "frightening" to you personally? Does losing your past (Retrograde) or being unable to create a future (Anterograde) destroy the concept of 'self' more effectively?
Clinical Case Teacher Guide Clinical Case Guide
Neurological Deficits Teacher Resource
Archive Code: BIO-MEM-04
The Biological Focus
In this lesson, we shift from psychological distortion (bias/reconstruction) to biological failure. The goal is for students to understand that memory is physically housed in specific structures.
The Hippocampus: The librarian. It doesn't "store" memories forever, but it "indexes" and "shelves" them. Damage = Anterograde Amnesia.
Case Study Key: H.M.
Henry Molaison is the most famous patient in neuroscience.
• Diagnosis: Severe Anterograde Amnesia.
• The Lesson: Hippocampal damage stops consolidation, but procedural memory (star-tracing tasks) can still improve! He learned new skills without ever remembering the practice.
Distinguishing the Amnesias
Feature Retrograde Anterograde Time Focus Past (Before trauma) Future (After trauma) Typical Cause Head trauma, Stroke Hippocampal damage, Viral (Wearings) Recovery Often regains oldest memories first Typically permanent/irreversible
Video Spotlight: Clive Wearing
"I'm awake. First time. I've been dead for years."
Clive's diary is filled with the same entry, crossed out over and over again. Every 30 seconds, he believes he has just achieved consciousness for the first time. Use this to discuss the concept of Working Memory—it is the only thing he has left.
Advanced Synthesis Question
If H.M. can learn to draw through a mirror but can't remember the drawing sessions, what does this tell us about the 'Modularity' of the human brain?
Justice Recall Slides Justice Recall
Memory in the Legal System
The Staged Event
"Identify the Perp"
You just saw a man run into the room, steal a laptop, and leave. You have 30 seconds to describe him.
Height: ________
Clothing: ________
Race/Age: ________
How confident are you?
Research shows that **confidence** in a memory has almost **zero** correlation with its **accuracy**.
The Stakes
The Innocence Project
Eyewitness misidentification is the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions in the United States.
~70%
Of exonerations involve false eyewitnesses.
"I remember his face as clearly as I remember my mother's. It was definitely him."
— Ronald Cotton's accuser (Cotton was later exonerated by DNA after 11 years in prison).
Lineup Bias
The "Relative Judgment" Problem
Witnesses tend to pick the person who looks **most like** the perp relative to others in the lineup, even if the real perp isn't there.
The Fix: Sequential Lineups
Show photos one by one. Force the witness to say "Yes" or "No" to each before seeing the next.
Leading the Witness
"Is this the man?" vs. "The perpetrator may or may not be in this lineup."
The presence of a uniform, the lighting, and the investigator's feedback ("Good, you picked the guy we suspected") can cement a false memory forever.
Your Commission
You are the Psychology Advisory Board.
Draft a memo to the Chief of Police outlining **three mandatory changes** to lineup procedures based on memory science.
Observation Encoding Retrieval
Memory is evidence. Protect it from contamination.
Lineup Logic Project Lineup Logic
Memorandum: Procedure Recommendation
Name: __________________________
The Mission
"The City Police Department has seen a rise in 'overturned' cases due to DNA evidence. You have been hired as a Forensic Psychologist to redesign their eyewitness identification procedures to minimize 'false positives' and protect the innocent."
1
The "As-Is" Audit
Look at the current police procedures below. Circle the Psychological Error and explain why it's a problem.
Current Procedure A:
"Detective says: 'Take a look at these six men. We think we caught the guy, just tell us which one he is.'"
Diagnosis: __________________________________
Current Procedure B:
"Detective gives the witness a thumbs-up and says 'Good job' after they pick a suspect from the group photo."
Diagnosis: __________________________________
2
Policy Proposal
Based on your knowledge of Schema Theory, the Misinformation Effect, and Retrieval Bias, draft your 3 primary recommendations.
Recommendation 01: Lineup Presentation
Connection to Memory Science: _________________________________________________
Recommendation 02: Investigator Conduct (Blind Testing)
Connection to Memory Science: _________________________________________________
Recommendation 03: Documenting Certainty
Connection to Memory Science: _________________________________________________
Final Summative Question:
"In a court of law, which should carry more weight: A witness who is 100% certain they saw the face, or a grain of DNA evidence found on a discarded cup? Why?"
Courtroom Counsel Teacher Guide Courtroom Counsel
Legal Application Teacher Guide
Culmination Focus
The goal of this final lesson is application. Students must take the theoretical concepts (interference, schemas, misinformation) and use them to fix a broken societal system: the legal process.
The "Memory-as-Evidence" Shift:
Teach students to treat memory not as a story, but as Physical Evidence that can be contaminated just as easily as a blood sample.
Critical Case Notes
Ronald Cotton Case
The accuser (Jennifer Thompson) identified Cotton in a photo array and then a physical lineup. After being told "good job," her memory "fused" with Cotton's face, making the real perp's face unrecognizable to her later.
Policy Proposal: Key Solutions
Solution 01
Sequential Presentation
"Show photos one at a time."
Prevents "relative judgment" where people pick the best match rather than an absolute match.
Solution 02
Double-Blind Lineups
"The officer shouldn't know the suspect."
Prevents subconscious body language or verbal cues (misinformation effect) from guiding the witness.
Solution 03
Instant Confidence Statement
"Ask for certainty immediately."
Confidence grows over time as memory reconstructs. The only "true" confidence is at the first identification.
The Ethics of Eyewitnesses
The Prosecution View
Humans have relied on testimony for millennia. Without it, many criminals go free. We shouldn't throw it out just because it's imperfect.
The Defense View
It's better to let ten guilty men go free than to imprison one innocent man based on a brain "glitch." Psychological science must trump "gut feelings."
Summative Unit Wrap-up: Ensure students link back to Lesson 2 (Schemas).
