心理学与生活-第51节

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bill。　Once；　however；　after　the　meal　had　been　served　and　the　party　had　been　given　their　bill；　someone　
asked　the　waiter　a　simple　question　about　their　order。　It　turned　out　that　the　waiter　could　remember　
very　little　of　it　once　he　had　pleted　his　task。　

The　result　of　this　observation　was　a　classic　experiment　that　demonstrated　greater　recall　of　tasks　
before　pletion　than　of　parable　tasks　after　pletion。　This　effect　of　enhanced　recall　for　
unpleted　tasks　was　named　the　Zeigarnik　Effect　after　Bluma　Zeigarnik；　the　researcher　who　
carried　out　the　study。　

In　the　experiment；　the　participants　performed　simple　tasks　that　they　would　be　able　to　acplish　if　
given　enough　time；　such　as　writing　down　a　favorite　quotation　from　memory；　solving　a　riddle；　and　
doing　mental　arithmetic　problems。　In　some　of　the　tasks；　the　participants　were　interrupted　before　
they　had　a　chance　to　carry　out　the　instructions　in　full。　In　others；　they　were　allowed　to　finish。　Despite　
the　fact　that　the　participants　spent　more　time　on　the　pleted　tasks　than　on　the　interrupted　ones；　
they　tended　to　recall　the　unfinished　tasks　better　than　the　finished　ones　when　they　were　questioned　
a　few　hours　later。　This　superiority　of　recall　for　the　unpleted　tasks　disappeared；　however；　within　
24　hours。　Apparently；　it　was　attributable　to　short…term　motivational　factors　that　affected　the　
rehearsal　process。　

It　might　appear　that　the　Zeigarnik　effect　is　inconsistent　with　the　notion　of　repression；　since　one　

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CHAPTER　8：　MEMORY　

might　expect　that　people　would　repress　their　memory　of　things　left　unfinished；　particularly　if　the　
lack　of　pletion　was　viewed　as　a　failure。　Later　research　has　suggested　a　resolution　of　this　
inconsistency　by　showing　that　the　Zeigamik　effect　only　holds　for　tasks　performed　under　
nonstressful　conditions。　When　nonpletion　is　ego　involving　and　threatens　the　individual’s　self…
esteem；　there　is　a　tendency　for　the　Zeigamik　effect　to　be　reversed；　for　pleted　tasks　to　be　
remembered　better　than　unpleted　ones。　

Remembering　and　Forgetting　

Why　do　we　forget？　Forgetting　is　a　nuisance；　but　it　happens　to　all　of　us—why？　There　is　a　
phenomenon　in　human　memory　known　as　decay。　Jenkins　and　Dallenbach　believed　the　decay　of　
memory　strength　was　a　function　of　time。　Their　research　concerned　what　happened　during　the　time　
span　and　how　it　could　influence　how　much　you　forgot—or　did　not　forget。　They　had　their　
participants　memorize　nonsense　syllables　and　then　tested　their　recall　at　1；　2；　4；　or　8　hours　later。　
According　to　Jenkins　and　Dallenbach；　decay　theory　proposes　that　busy　or　not；　if　time　between　
memorization　and　recall　is　equivalent　across　participant　groups；　then　the　amount　of　forgetting　will　
be　equivalent。　WRONG！　Participants　who　remained　awake　and　working　after　memorizing　the　
syllables　recalled　less　than　those　who　were　able　to　sleep　and　then　were　retested　on　awakening　did。　

This　effect　is　a　phenomenon　called　interference。　The　amount　that　you　forget　depends　on　how　much　
other　“stuff’　you　had　to　absorb　and　deal　with　in　the　interim　and　what　you　learned　earlier　is　going　to　
pete　with　material　learned　later。　This　is　called　Interference　Theory。　

There　are　two　types　of　interference：　

Proactive　interference　（a。k。a。　inhibition）　deals　with　forward　（pro）　acting　interference；　the　

detrimental　impact　that　having　learned　List　A　has　on　your　ability　to　remember　a　subsequently　

learned　List　B。　An　experimental　group　tested　on　List　B；　the　second　list；　after　a　retention　interval；　

did　worse　on　recall　of　List　B　than　did　a　control　group　who　did　not　learn　List　A。　（What　else　

might　explain　this？　Serial　position　curves　and　the　primacy　effect）。　

Retroactive　interference　refers　to　the　detrimental　impact　that　learning　List　B　has　on　previously　

learned　List　A。　This　is　backward…acting　interference　and　occurs　when　something　that　you　have　

learned　recently　interferes　with　something　that　you　learned　in　the　past。　For　example；　when　an　

experimental　group　learns　List　A；　then　List　B；　followed　by　a　retention　period　and　is　asked　to　

recall　List　A　ten　minutes　later；　performance　is　poor。　Learning　List　B　interferes　with　memory　for　

List　A。　

Example　of　Proactive　Interference/Inhibition　Experiment　Protocol　

Experimental　Learn　List　A　Learn　List　B　Retention　Period　Memory　test　
Group　for　List　B　
Control　Group　Learn　List　B　Retention　Period　Memory　test　
for　List　B　

The　Control　Group　in　this　experiment　usually　performs　better　on　the　test　of　List　B　because　they　did　
not　have　List　A　to　interfere　with　what　they　learned　later。　

Example　of　Retroactive　Interference/Inhibition　Experiment　Protocol　

Experimental　Learn　List　A　Learn　List　B　Retention　Period　Memory　test　

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PSYCHOLOGY　AND　LIFE　

Group　for　List　A　

Control　Group　Learn　List　B　Retention　Period　Memory　test　
for　List　A　

The　Control　Group　in　this　experiment　usually　performs　better　on　the　test　of　List　A　because　they　did　
not　have　List　B　to　interfere　with　what　they　had　learned　previously。　

Reasons　for　Memory　Loss　with　Age　

As　people　get　older；　their　ability　to　remember　tends　to　decrease。　It　takes　longer　for　older　people　to　
retrieve　information；　and　sometimes　they　are　unable　to　retrieve　information　that　they　are　confident　
is　“in　there　somewhere。”　Here　are　some　of　the　factors　that　contribute　to　memory　loss　in　older　people。　

。　Proactive　interference　occurs　when　something　we　learned　in　the　past　interferes　with　something　learned　
more　recently。　This　type　of　interference　may　be　more　of　a　problem　for　older　people　because　they　have　
been　exposed　to　more　information　than　younger　people　have；　and　there　is　potentially　more　previously　
learned　material　to　interfere　with　what　was　learned　later。　
。　State…dependent　memory　tells　us　that　being　in　the　same　physiological　state　at　the　time　of　storage　and　
retrieval　facilitates　remembering。　We　change　physiologically　with　age　and　physiological　states　
experienced　at　65　may　be　much　different　from　those　experienced　at　younger　ages。　
。　Environmental　cues　for　memory　also　decrease　as　people　grow　older。　Houses　and　other　structures　they　
remember　have　been　replaced；　family　and　friends　have　died　or　moved　away；　streets　and　roads　have　
been　replaced　by　expressways；　and　fields　and　forests　have　been　replaced　by　buildings。　
。　Memory　failures　in　older　people　may　have　a　physiological　cause。　Neurons　involved　in　a　memory　or　in　
the　associations　that　would　lead　to　a　memory　may　have　degenerated；　or　the　supply　of　an　important　
neurotransmitter　like　acetylcholine　may　have　decreased。　
。　Depression　in　the　elderly　may　be　a　cause　of　memory　loss。　As　a　function　of　such　factors　as　living　alone；　
being　widowed；　living　far　from　one’s　children；　watching　one’s　friends　and　acquaintances　bee　ill　and　
die；　and　their　own　deteriorating　physical　health　are　all　more　than　adequate　reasons　for　depression。　
Depression　brings　limited　attention。　If　the　attention　span　of　an　elderly　individual　is　impaired　as　a　
conitant　of　depression；　memory　impairment　may　follow。　
BIOGRAPHICAL　PROFILES　

Hermann　Ebbinghaus　（1850—1909）　

Born　in　Barmen；　Germany；　Ebbinghaus　was　instrumental　in　the　development　of　the　new　
science　of　experimental　psychology　at　the　turn　of　the　century。　A　professor　at　both　Breslau　and　
Halle；　he　was　the　first　experimentalist　to　conduct　vigorous　laboratory　investigations　of　human　
learning　and　memory。　Using　himself　as　a　participant；　Ebbinghaus　memorized　long　lists　of　
nonsense　syllables　that　he　believed　had　no　prior　meaning　or　associative　value。　His　research　
resulted　in　several　discoveries；　including　the　finding　that　as　the　quantity　of　material　to　be　
learned　increases；　the　amount　of　time　needed　to　learn　it　increases　disproportionately；　known　as　
Ebbinghaus’　Law；　and　the　serial　position　curve。　

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Endel　Tulving　（b。　1927）　

Born　in　Estonia；　Endel　Tulving　was　educated　at　the　University　of　Heidelberg　and　the　
University　of　Toronto　before　obtaining　his　Ph。D。　at　Harvard　in　1951。　He　taught　at　the　
University　of　Toronto　for　most　of　his　professional　career。　His　major　contributions　include　both　
experimental　and　theoretical　work　on　human　memory。　In　particular；　Tulving　has　introduced　
many　of　the　concepts　that　are　today　considered　indispensable　to　understanding　human　
cognition　and　memory；　including　subjective　organization；　retrieval　cues；　and　the　distinction　
between　episodic　and　semantic　memory。　

Elizabeth　F。　Loftus　（b。　1944）　

Born　in　Los　Angeles；　Loftus　earned　her　B。A。　in　psychology　at　UCLA　in　1966　and　her　Ph。D。　at　
Stanford　in　1970。　She　has　been　a　professor　of　psychology　at　the　University　of　Washington　since　
1975。　Professor　Loftus’　area　of　specialty　is　human　memory。　Her　expertise　is　in　the　area　of　
eyewitness　testimony；　and　she　is　often　referred　to　as　“the　expert　who　puts　memory　on　trial。”　
Loftus　has　made　a　career　of　exploring　the　frailties　and　flaws　of　human　memory；　particularly　
with　respect　to　the　validity　of　memories　encoded　under　duress；　such　as　when　witnessing　a　
crime　or　being　a　victim　of　a　crime。　She　is　sought　after　as　the　expert　witness　who　can　explain　to　
juries　the　fallibility　of　human　memory；　and　help　them　to　understand　that　what　the　eyewitness　
says　he　or　she