A new article on memory discusses an often overlooked component of memory — that under some circumstances, forgetting plays an important role in the function of memory. It’s time for forgetting to get some respect, says Ben Storm, author of the article on memory in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the US Association for Psychological Science. “We need to rethink how we’re talking about forgetting and realise that under some conditions it actually does play an important role in the function of memory,” says Storm, who is a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Storm and other psychologists were trying to understand how our minds select the right things to recall. They found that memories and associations accumulate rapidly. Unless we learnt to forget what’s not relevant, they could completely overrun our life and make it impossible to learn and retrieve new things by just overpowering the rest of memory. If this does not happen it is because we are able to get around these strong competing inappropriate memories by forgetting some and remembering the ones we want to recall. Forgetting in this context is not a sign of mental weakness but an aid to keep the mind sharp. In fact, it helps us remember.
As several psychology studies have established people who are good at forgetting information they don’t need are also good at problem solving and at remembering something when they’re being distracted with other information. For it enables them to focus on what is relevant and ignore what’s immaterial and could distract from the search for the solution. Often our first reaction to forgetting is to get nervous about the fact that we can’t remember. Next time this happens, we shouldn’t get nervous as it will only come in our way. Rather, relax, take a deep breath and learn to laugh off our forgetfulness. We can rest assured that, later, we will remember.