Dear Neurologists... Forum

[QandAphorism]

Why is there an overwhelming pattern of memory loss involving the majority of LSAT test-takers and the questions they just answered over the course of 3+ hours just a few days ago?

What part or faculty in the brain is being used (or exploited) for the purposes of this LSAT business?

I use the term "business" instead of "test" because I'm (a) beginning to distrust the process and (b) making an ironic statement about it's actual dynamic, in my opinion.

In any case.... if there are any biologically/neurologically inclined amongst you all out there, please advise. I personally have a pretty potent memory in almost all other areas of my work, education, life, etc.... why can't I remember more of what I just did from 9 to 2pm on Saturday?

[gdane]

Kind of a dumb question, but still good. I too wonder this since I have absolutely no recollection of most of the LR questions I did. Like, none.

I would guess that being in "panic" mode (as one might be during testing conditions) might have something to do with this.

[incompetentia]

Stress is a powerful thingy.

[cowgirl_bebop]

Maybe its because we were "trained" to concentrate on the problem at hand and then not think about it for the rest of the test. "Answer it and move on", I was told.

That and the fact that I was operating in a constant state of panic the entire time.

[QandAphorism]

I don't know... there are some incredibly stressful moments of my life that I recall every minute detail of. Stress, used vaguely, doesn't satisfy my need for more scientific, empirical analysis.

[danicalifornia]

No idea, but wish I knew! I'm trying to decide if I should cancel or not, but it's a bit challenging since I can't even seem to remember the vast majority of the LR questions that I am still worried about. I do, sadly, remember the very painful last RC passage.

[arean.ryan]

I don't remember too much from the test, all I remember was my pissed off I'm going to cancel state of mind. With that said I don't think I am going to cancel...and I know I am going to regret it.

[YCrevolution]

..

[incompetentia]

If we had better memories, there would be a lot fewer people getting banned for unintentional slip-ups.

[hanayalator]

I'm sure part of it is getting the questions done and then forgetting about them. You don't want a hard questions to mess up future questions. Part of it is also the intense focus on the question at hand, and not on any others. And part of it the massive amount of information in that short of a time period. I've been going nuts trying to figure out which sections was my experimental (I had 3 LRs), although in retrospect, trying to remember 76 questions, and what section they were in, with little more than a minute on each is tough to do, especially since the goal of the test isn't to remember the questions. It's also natural for the brain to delete information that's not really necessary. I'm mean sure it'd be great to be able to remember every question and what order that came in, but that's not our brain's main goal.

[J. Galt]

I'm a psychology major with some knowledge of memory, so I'm basically as uninformed as everyone else. However, stress can create very vivid memories, often called "flashbulb memories" such as the 9/11 attacks. Most people who are old enough can tell people exactly where they were when they heard or saw the collapse of the towers. To a lesser degree I think that this is sort of what happens on really challenging questions that we all suffer through. I remember most of the questions I had trouble on and almost none of the others that I blazed through. By comparison, the other questions are pretty much irrelevant, and we have no intense feelings or other thoughts attached to them.

My other theory is that questions that most of us shot through very quickly were never fully internalized because we read and answer most questions in under a minute. On the harder games and questions, we spend a lot of time deeply focusing on them which probably builds a stronger memory.

These are just my theories based on the bull**** (how censored is TLS?) pseudoscience that I have been studying for four years and regret almost daily.

[kilgoretrout103]

Jesus christ, there were 101 complicated-ass questions. I think the fact that we've collectively reconstructed as much as we have is impressive.

[ShuckingNotJiving]

errrmm or maybe people remember the questions, but just don't think discussing them is worth potentially getting banned? I know that's my reason...

[Blumpbeef]

Alcohol, lots and lots of alcohol.

[Attorney]

errrmm or maybe people remember the questions, but just don't think discussing them is worth potentially getting banned? I know that's my reason...

I remember Shakespeare, Antibiotics, and Stolen Cars. That's it for LR. So I am earnestly afflicted with this condition and it's not because of alcohol.

[J. Galt]

Alcohol, lots and lots of alcohol.

I have to admit I had a little Jack Daniels after the test, but not enough to even really get buzzed. It would say a lot about high-scoring LSAT takers if we all had consumed so much alcohol after the test that we could all only remember a handful of questions. We'd probably be really prepared for life after law school though...

[ElvisAaron]

Molestation victims often cannot recall the events of their trauma.
I submit that we've been assporked by the LSAT.

[incompetentia]

Definitely possible. Especially because I haven't had a drop of alcohol since the test

[longdaysjourney]

Stress is a powerful thingy.

this...one stressful moment will be burned into your memory (i.e. remembering a car wreck in vivid slow motion), but a prolonged stressful situation (i.e. a three hour test) seems to blur together....at least that's my way of thinking about it

[NJcollegestudent]

I think that we can probably remember each question, however, we require a key phrase or term to actually accesses that question in our minds.

I forgot what that term was, priming i think?

[JurisDoctorate]

The most obvious answer is that we are barely focusing on the content of the questions, when we take it. We are basically just reading for the argumentation line, not the content of the question. Now, as you can see with everyone's memory of RC, when we actually read for content - we did remember a lot. Plus, each question in LR is on a different topic and we only spend about 1:15 on each question; whereas, with RC and LG, we actually remembered it when we had almost 8:45 to focus on a topic.

You can always come up with some other theory, but KISS works pretty well. At the end of the day, it'd be pretty difficult to remember 50 different topics - especially when you're only spending a minute on each and only focusing on the underlying logic.

[KevinP]

Molestation victims often cannot recall the events of their trauma.
I submit that we've been assporked by the LSAT.

This.

[JurisDoctorate]

I think that we can probably remember each question, however, we require a key phrase or term to actually accesses that question in our minds.

I forgot what that term was, priming i think?

Well, we just need our memory to be jogged. We are far better at Recognition than at Recall.

Priming is what is at work in stereotype threat. If you are primed with the knowledge of your race, like a demographic section before the SAT, then you are more likely to perform within the stereotype (Asians will do better and African-Americans will underperform). This also works on a a survey when Christian-Americans are given a survey on how they see the world; they will be more likely to answer in a Pro-American sentiment if they are shown a flag before a test and in a more Christian way - if they are shown a cross.

[RPK34]

Stress is a powerful thingy.

this...one stressful moment will be burned into your memory (i.e. remembering a car wreck in vivid slow motion), but a prolonged stressful situation (i.e. a three hour test) seems to blur together....at least that's my way of thinking about it

I, and a lot of people I know, have zero recollection of jumping out of the plane the first time we went skydiving. I remember free falling and everything, but just not leaving the plane.

Part of it I believe has to do with timing. Events where you are aware of incoming stress (such as skydiving or the LSAT) and adrenaline is released before the stressful event occurs, you are more likely to "black out." On the other hand, when something stressful happens out of almost nowhere, your memory is going to remember it much better. Someone mentioned remembering a car crash very well.

It has something to do with adrenaline targeting one area of the brain (whose name I do no know). Hope that helps.

[Norlan]

Kind of a dumb question, but still good. I too wonder this since I have absolutely no recollection of most of the LR questions I did. Like, none.

I would guess that being in "panic" mode (as one might be during testing conditions) might have something to do with this.

i thought stress/panic was supposed to make your memory of that very moment more remarkable than usual....at least that's the case for me