According to Ebbinghaus, what effect does time have on forgetting?

Ebbinghaus's research on memory and forgetting led to the formulation of the forgetting curve, which illustrates how information is lost over time when there is no attempt to retain it. The key finding is that forgetting increases as time passes; this means that the longer the duration since the information was learned, the more likely it is to be forgotten.

Ebbinghaus demonstrated through his experiments that the most significant amount of forgetting occurs shortly after learning, which gradually levels off over time. This relationship between time and forgetting emphasizes the importance of repeated study or retrieval practice to enhance retention. The pattern suggests that immediate recall is strong after initial learning, but without reinforcement, memory deteriorates over days or weeks.

Therefore, identifying the effect of time as a contributor to the increase in forgetting aligns with Ebbinghaus's findings, making it the correct understanding of his work on memory dynamics.