4 Explanations for Forgetting

When was the last time you forgot to return a call or couldn't remember where you left your car keys? Chances are strong that it wasn't very long ago. Forgetting is a surprising common occurrence, but it can sometimes be difficult to understand why we forget. Students often find themselves staring at a fill-in-the-blank question on an exam, absolutely sure that that information is somewhere in their brains and yet they are unable to remember the answer.

What are some of the major reasons why we forget information? One of today's best known memory researchers, Elizabeth Loftus, has identified four major reasons why people forget: retrieval failure, interference, failure to store and motivated forgetting. Learn more about these explanations for forgetting.