6) Explanations for Forgetting : Retrieval Failure

Question 1

Why does retrieval failure happen

Answer 1

Absence of cues, lack of cues at time of retrieval may not access memories that are actually there

Question 2

What is it called when the same cues are present at encoding and retrieval + Psychologist name

Answer 2

Encoding Specifity - Tulving

Question 3

What are the two type of cues

Answer 3

• Context dependent forgetting - recall depends on external cue
• State depended forgetting - recall depends on internal cue

Question 4

Who investigated Context dependent forgetting

Answer 4

Godden and Baddeley

Question 5

What were the findings of Godden and baddeley’s study

Answer 5

Recall was 40% lower in mismatched contexts compared to matched (learn on land/water - recall on land/water)

Question 6

Who investigated State dependent forgetting

Answer 6

Carter and Cassadey

Question 7

What were the finding in Carter & Cassadays study

Answer 7

Recall significantly worse in mismatched cues compared to matched cues (learn on drug/not on drug - recall on drug/recall not on drug)

Question 8

EV of retrieval failure - real world application

Answer 8

• People often go to another room to get an item but forget, to remember again they go back to the original room
• Its probably worth recalling the environment we were in when we first learned something
• this shows how research can remind us of strategies we use the real world to recall

Question 9

EV of retrieval failure - range of supporting evidence

Answer 9

• Golden and Baddeley (divers) show how lack of cues at recall leads to everyday forgetting
• Eysenck argues retrieval failure is perhaps the main reason for forgetting in LTM
• This evidence shows retrieval failure is due to lack of cues occurs in everyday life as well as labs

Question 10

EV of retrieval failure - context effects vary in recall and recognition

Answer 10

• Recognition and Baddeley replicated experiment using recognition test instead of recall
• no context depending effect, findings were the same in all 4 conditions whether contexts for learning and recall match for not
• Retrieval failure is a limited explanation for forgetting because it only applies when a person has to recall information rather that recognise it