There are psychological reasons behind the fact of forgetting names and how our brain prioritizes certain information about another.
Forgetting a name amid a conversation can be something quite uncomfortable and even generates shame. But anyway, psychology explains that this type of inconvenience They are more common than we think and are not necessarily due to a serious memory problem.
When we know someone, our brain keeps several data on that person. But Not all of these data have the same hierarchy In our mind, since some are stored instantly and others remain in the background. Among those secondary data are usually proper names.
Person forgetting
Why do I forget the name of people?
Psychology explains that proper names They are more difficult to fix in memory than other data, such as profession or physical appearance. This is because, not having a logical connection with the person, our brain needs an extra effort to associate them.
Professor David Ludden, by Georgia Gwinnett College, explains that memory for names works differently from the rest of the information. In an article published in Psychology TodayHe says that the lack of repetition and association is the main cause of this forgetfulness. If we barely met someone and do not repeat their name, it is very likely that it disappears from our memory quickly.
In addition, as we live in a Informative overload contextour brain prioritizes the data that it considers more useful or urgent, leaving others in the background. Emotion and personal relevance also influence. If the person impacts us or is important for our environment, The brain will assign more resources to remember it.
The reality is that forgetting names does not imply disinterest or lack of educationsince it is actually a sample of how our memory works. To improve this retention, specialists suggest repeating the name several times when you meet someone, link it with personal images or data, and reinforce that association in the first minutes of the contact.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
