9 - Retrieval Failure

Question 1

What does retrieval failure argue?

Answer 1

Retrieval failure argues that forgetting occurs due to the absence of appropriate retrieval cues. When info is initially placed in memory, data associated with this information is stored at the same time. If these retrieval cues are not available at the time of recall, then it may seem like the information has been forgotten, when in actual fact you just can’t retrieve it.

Some retrieval cues are linked to the material that needs to be remembered in a meaningful way, like the anagram STM will cause people to recall lots of info about the short term memory. Other retrieval cues are also coded at the same time of learning, but not in a meaningful way.

Question 2

What are context cues?

Answer 2

The environment in which the material was leant can act as a context cue. This means that if you recall information information in the same environment that you leaned it, then recall will be better. If you are not in the same context as retrieval as you were at coding, then forgetting can occur.

Question 3

What are state cues?

Answer 3

An individuals physical state also acts a retrieval cue and can affect recall. Research has found that recall is facilitated if people have a similar physical state at recall as when you leaned the information at coding. If you are in a different physical state, then forgetting may occur.

Question 4

Evaluation retrieval cues?

Answer 4

+ Abernethy (1940) demonstrated the importance of context-dependent cues.
They tested participants’ recall 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
retrieval cues.
+godden and baddeley demonstrated the importance of context cues. They asked divers to learn a list of words either on land or underwater. Results showed that recall was better in the environment that words were leant as the environment acted as a context cue.
+Darley et al supports state cues. They asked participants to Stash money in a warehouse under the influence of cannabis and could only recall where they put the money if they went under the influence of cannabis again.
+ retrieval failure has practical applications. Wherever possible students should revise in the room that they area going to take the exam in.
- Baddeley argues that retrieval cues are not strong in real life. In real life we often recall information in a different context as to when we learnt the information. E.G. students do not take their GCSEs in a classroom where they learnt the information needed for the exam