Chart from Encarta
Hermann Ebbinghaus Hermann Ebbinghaus
Forgetting Curve Forgetting Curve
Duration of Working Memory Duration of Working Memory

Forgetting Curve

Forgetting Curve
In 1885 German philosopher Hermann Ebbinghaus conducted one of the first studies on memory, using himself as a subject. He memorized lists of nonsense syllables and then tested his memory of the syllables at intervals ranging from 20 minutes to 31 days. As shown in this curve, he found that he remembered less than 40 percent of the items after nine hours, but that the rate of forgetting leveled off over time.
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Psychology; Memory (psychology)
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