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Weinland reports that the theory that we forget unpleasant things has been tested, and that the findings indicate that usually pleasant things are remembered better than unpleasant things, but there is no great difference quantitatively. Further, both pleasant and unpleasant things are remembered better than indifferent things, and pessimists tend to remember unpleasant things and forget pleasant ones. Repression, then, exists in one way or another. Amnesia is a complete escape through repression; this frequently proves to be disturbing and thus a motivation is created for recovery. Small-scale amnesia, or "blacking out," is often protective. Repression can also operate for reasons of pride, to avoid anxiety, and to make past memories more acceptable by alteration of the facts. Memories fade more rapidly when they are not in use, or reviewed. (Here Weinland makes a distinction between recall and recognition; the former is lost much more quickly than the latter.) But the material learned is not altogether lost, for it can be relearned in less time than was necessary when the material was completely new. In the course of his experimentation, Ebbinghaus found that forgetting begins rapidly and then slows down. Davis and Moore tested retention and found that material meaningful to the learner was remembered better. Nadorah Smith reported that with material retained for a long time the forgetting process is slowed down considerably. E. J. Smith found retention high in motor acts; he explained this as due to the fact that greater organization is required for this sort of learning, |
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