Why do you forget their name?

You meet a new person,and as you go to shake hands after introducing yourself,you suddenly realise,'Wait,I already forgot their name.' Why does this always happen ?

Chances are that you can remember someone's face over their name,our brains are hardwired to recognise facial details. Brain scans even show that individual neurons are fired in response to any given face. But,when it comes to forgetting names,it may have to do with something called the baker effect. If I tell you I'm a baker,provide information about what I do and how I spend my time,but,if I say my name is 'Baker',it has no mental links and is vulnerable to forgetting. After all,names are completely arbitrary and hold no specific information in them. If our brain can't make connections between multiple pieces of information,particularly,things you already know or feel familiar with,then you are more likely to forget that information.

Often focusing on introducing yourself,of course,doesn't help. This is known as the 'next in line' effect. Instead of watching and listening to the other person,our brain starts focusing on it's own routine. Our brains have both short and long term memory,but the short term memory or sometimes called 'working memory' can only hold limited information,and if we don't focus on it,it fades away quickly.

Simply put,the more interest we have in something,the more likely our brain is to make new connections. As a result,people who enjoy being more social are focused and barely feel as if their memory is being used or tested.