3. Forgetting Flashcards
What is forgetting
Forgetting is when learnt information cant be retrieved.
Experiments on memory assume that if you cant retrieve a memory, its forgotten
Forgetting in STM
- Forgetting info from STM is thought to be down to an availability problem - the information is no longer available bc of the limited capacity or the limited duration of the STM.
- The info may have been displaced or simply have faded away (decayed).
Forgetting in LTM
- In LTM, forgetting can be caused by decay (an availability problem), but it can also be bc:
1. The info was stored, but is hard to retrieve - an accessibility problem. Eg. you read smth once, a long time ago, & now need a lot of help to recall it.
2. The info is confused - there is an interference problem. Eg. two pieces of learnt info are too similar, & you cant tell them apart easily.
What is interference
One theory about forgetting is that your ability to remember a particular thing you’ve learnt can be affected by having learnt smth simialr before or since. This is known as interference - there are 2 different types:
- Retroactive interference
- Proactive interference
What is an explanation for forgetting
Interference
What is Retroactive interference
Retroactive interference is where new information interferes with the ability to recall older information
Study that supports Retroactive interference
Underwood & Postman (1960) carried out a study which supported Retroactive interference.
- In a lab experiment, participants were split into 2 groups. Both groups were given a list of paired words to learn (eg. cat-tree). The experimental group was then given a second list of words to learn, where the first of the words in each pair was the *same** as in the first list (eg. cat-dirt). The control group wasn’t given a second word list.
- Both groups were then tested on their recall of t he first word list, by being given the first word from each pair.
- Recall was better in the control group, suggesting that Retroactive interference of the second word list had affected recall for the experimental group.
What is Proactive interference
Proactive interference is where older information interferes with the ability to recall new information
Study that supports Proactive interference
Underwood (1957) studied Proactive interference by looking at the results of studies into forgetting over a 24-hour period.
- He found that is ppl had previously learnt 15 or more word lists during the same experiment, a day later their recall of the last word list was around 20%.
- If they hadnt learnt any earlier lists, recall a day later was around 80%.
- Underwood concluded that Proactive interference from the earlier lists had affected the participants’ ability to remember later ones.
Evaluation of the Interference theory: PROS
- Proactive & Retroactive interference are supported by lots of studies, many of which were highly controlled laboratory experiments.
- As well as in laboratory experiments, there is evidence for interference existing in real-world settings too. Eg. you might struggle to remember your French vocab if you later start learning German.
Evaluation of the Interference theory: CONS
- Interference effects seem much greater in artificial laboratory settings than they do in real life, so it may not be as strong a theory as once thought.
- The theory gives us an explanation for why we forget, but it doesnt go into the cognitive or biological processes involved - it doesnt fully explain why or how interference happens.
What can recall depend on
Recall can depend on getting the right cues
Theory of getting the right cues
Another theory of memory states that being able to recall a piece of info depends on getting the right cue.
- In this theory, forgetting is treated as a retrieval failure - the info still exists in memory but isnt accessible.
- When we encode a new memory, we also store info that occurred around it (cues)
- We have more chance of retrieving the memory if the cue is appropriate. Cues can be internal (eg. how we felt, mood) or external (eg. context, like surroundings, situation).
- We remember more if we are in the same context/mood as we were in when we coded the info originally. This is known as cue-dependent learning.
What did Tulving & Psotka (1971) do
Tulving & Psotka (1971) compared the theories of interference & cue-dependent forgetting.
Method of Tulving & Psotka (1971)
Each participant was given either 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 lists of 24 words. Each list was divided into 6 categories of 4 words. Words were presented in category order (eg. all animals, then all trees, etc).
After the lists were presented, in 1 condition, participants had to simply recall all the words - total free recall.
In another condition, participants were given all the category names & had to try to recall words from the list - free cued recall.
Results of Tulving & Psotka (1971)
- In the total free recall condition, there seemed to be evidence of retroactive interference.
- Participants w 1 or 2 lists to remember had higher recall than those w more lists to remember, suggesting the later lists were interfering w remembering the earlier lists
- However, in the cued recall test, the effects of retroactive interference disappeared. It didnt matter how many lists a participant had - recall was still the same for each list (abt 70%).
Conclusion of Tulving & Psotka (1971)
The results suggest that interference had NOT caused forgetting. Bc the memories became accessible if a cue as used, it showed that they were available, but just inaccessible.
Therefore, the forgetting shown in the total free recall condition was cue-dependent forgetting.
Evaluation of Tulving & Psotka (1971): PROS
- Was a laboratory experiment so was highly controlled, reducing effect of extraneous variables.
Evaluation of Tulving & Psotka (1971): CONS
- However, laboratory experiments lacks ecological validity as the setting & task are artificial.
- The study on tested memory of words, so the results cant reliably be generalised to info of other types.
Evaluation of the theory of getting the right cues: PROS
- Cue-dependent forgetting is thought to be the best explanation of forgetting in LTM, as it has the strongest evidence. Most forgetting is seen to be caused by retrieval failure. This means that virtually all memory we have is available in LTM - we just need the right cue to be able to access it.
Evaluation of the theory of getting the right cues: CONS
- The evidence is artificial (eg. recalling word lists), lacking meaning in the real world.
- Also, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to test whether all info in LTM is accessible & available, & just waiting for the right cue.
- The theory might not explain all types of memory. Eg. cues might not be relevant to procedural memory, sa remembering how to ride a bike or play an instrument.
What causes retrieval failure
The reason we forget is due to insufficient cues
Encoding Specificity Principle (Tuvling)
“The greater the similarity between the encoding event & the retrieval event, the greater the likelihood of recalling the original memory”
What are the 2 types of cues
Context - external environmental cues (surroundings)
State - internal cues (feelings, mood)
