9 - Forgetting : Retrival Failure Theory Flashcards
Define retrieval failure
People may forget information because of insufficient cues.
If cues are not available at time of recall, it may appear as though you have forgotten it, when in reality you just can’t access it.
What is the encoding specificity principle and how does it relate to retrieval failure?
The principle states that if a cue is to help us recall information, then it has to be present at coding and at retrieval.
If the cues available at coding and retrieval are different or absent then forgetting will occur.
What are the types of cues?
Could be meaningful
Or unmeaningful: context - dependent forgetting and state - dependent forgetting
What is context dependent forgetting?
The physical environment in which material is learnt can act as a cue.
If you recall information in the same environment you learned it, then you will recall it better.
What is state - dependent forgetting ?
Recall is facilitated if people have a similar psychological state at recall as when the information was coded.
What are the advantages of retrieval failure theory?
Participants recall was tested using a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar instructors and teaching rooms. Participants tested by a familiar instructor, in a familiar room, performed the best because the instructor and room acted as cues. This shows the importance of context- dependent cues.
It was found that participants who hid money while under the influence of cannabis were more likely to recall the hiding place when in a similar drugged state. This shows the importance of state dependent cues.
What are the disadvantages of the retrieval failure theory?
Baddeley argued that the influence of cues is not actually very strong. In real life we often recall something in a different context to where we learned it.
