Over time, without stimulus repetition, conditioned responses to conditioned stimuli decrease {forgetting}|. Over time, without reinforcement, instrumental responses to conditioned stimuli decrease. All stimulus-response associative links or conditioned reflexes gradually disappear without reinforcement.
cause
Forgetting happens because events repeat without reward, not because time passed or people did not use response.
level
Forgetting can be complete, with no response or memory.
purpose
Forgetting allows retaining most-useful information.
forgetting rate
Maximum forgetting rate is immediately after learning. Forgetting rate decreases over one day and then levels off.
If stimulus pairing ceases, conditioned response fades {extinction, learning}|. Extinction has same stages and processes as conditioning. Near extinction time, activity level, response variation, and response force increase [Watson, 1913] [Watson, 1924].
Other learning causes forgetting {suppression, learning}|. Newer memories can modify older ones. More suppression results when more activities intervene between learning and recall. Blocking new learning prevents suppression.
6-Psychology-Cognition-Learning-Kinds-Conditioning
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Date Modified: 2022.0225