Cue Dependant Theory - Explanations for Forgetting

Question 1

What is cue dependant theory?

Answer 1

• This is the failure to find an item of
  information because you have insufficient clues or cues.
  It is possible that you have a vast store of memories and could access them - if
  only someone could provide the right cues. There are two main different types of cue:

1. The context where initial learning takes place/external cues in the environment,
   e.g. smell, place etc.
2. The state (mood) you were in may act as a cue later.

Question 2

Whats the encoding specificity principle?

Answer 2

-Created by Tulving
-It is believed that if you are in the same context and/or same state as you were when
both encoding and retrieval takes place then recall will be greater.

Question 3

A03 - Abernethy’s classroom study

Answer 3

-Support for the notion that external cues act as an aid for recall is demonstrated through the
findings of Abernethy’s (1940) study.
-He arranged for a group of students to be tested beforema course began.
-They were then tested each week, some, in their usual teaching room by their usual instructor, some by a different instructor. Others in a different room either by their usual instructor or by a different one.

-Those tested by the same instructor in the same room had the highest level of recall. This supports the cue dependent theory that external cues aid
retrieval.

Question 4

A03 - Goodwins Drunk/Sober study

Answer 4

-Support for the notion that internal /state cues act as an aid for recall is demonstrated
through the findings of Goodwin et al (1969).
-He asked participants to learn a list of words
when they were either drunk or sober. T
-he mood/feeling produced by presence or absence
of alcohol is an internal cue.
-The Ps were asked to recall the list after 24 hours when some were sober and some were drunk.

-Drunk recall was higher with drunk learning, sober recall was higher with sober learning, supporting the state dependent theory of forgetting.

-However, we must be cautious when applying these findings as evidence for state dependent theory, as the consumption of alcohol affects individuals in different ways and could confound the results, reducing the validity of the findings as well as the applicability when other state factors, (other than alcohol) are involved.

Question 5

A03 - Lack of Empirical Evidence

Answer 5

• Cue-dependent Theory tells us very little about the cognitive processes involved in forgetting.
  -It is difficult (as well as reductionist) to isolate one single variable, such as lack of
  cues, and pinpoint that as the sole reason for forgetting, when many other factors may
  contribute, such as interference and biological factors.
  -This means that there is a lack of
  clear empirical evidence supporting the cue-dependent theory.

-Therefore Cue-dependent Theory may not be comprehensively applied to all individuals and circumstances as an explanation for forgetting.