Explanation 2 For Forgetting: Absence Of Cues

Question 1

Explain how absence of cues can cause retrieval failure

Answer 1

• lack of cues can cause retrieval failure
• when information is initially placed in memory, associated cues are stored at the same time- if these cues are not available at the time of recall, you may not be able to access memories that are actually there

Question 2

Explain encoding specificity principle (ESP)

Answer 2

• Tulving reviewed research into retrieval failure and concluded that a cue can help us to recall information if the cue was present at the time of recall AND at retrieval
• the closer the retrieval cue is to the original cue, the better the cue works I.e. enables accurate memory recall

Question 3

Some cues have meaning linked to memory-> some cues are linked to

Answer 3

The material to be remembered in a meaningful way e.g. cue ‘STM’ may lead you to recall all sorts of information about STM including encoding, duration and capacity etc

Question 4

In contrast, some cues have no meaningful link-> other cues are also encoded at the same time of learning but not in a meaningful way:

Answer 4

1- context-dependent forgetting = memory retrieval is dependent on an external/environmental cue e.g. weather or a place that was present at the time of learning

2- state-dependent forgetting= memory retrieval dependent on an internal cue- state of mind e.g. feeling upset, being intoxicated, that was present at the time of learning

Question 5

Who conducted a key study on context- dependent forgetting?

Answer 5

Godden and Baddeley

Question 6

Explain what research Godden and Baddeley did on context- dependent forgetting

Answer 6

• looked at how external cues present at time of encoding affected memory recall
• deep-sea divers learned a list of words either underwater or on land and were then asked to recall the words either in the same conditions or different conditions
• 4 conditions:
  ) learn on land - recall on land
  ) learn on land- recall underwater
  ) learn underwater- recall on land
  ) learn underwater- recall underwater

Question 7

What were the findings and conclusions from Godden and Baddeley’s experiment?

Answer 7

• recall 40% lower in non-matching conditions than when they did match
  = when external cues available at learning we’re different from ones at recall, this led to retrieval failure due to absence of cues

Question 8

What are the evaluation points for absence of cues explanation for forgetting?

Answer 8

✅ Godden and Baddeley findings
❌ Baddeley argues that context effects are not very strong in real life
✅ despite skepticism, the concept of context- related cues has useful real-life applications
❌ context effect may only occur when you test memory in a certain way
❌ issue with Tulving’s ESP is that it cannot be tested and leads to a form of circular reasoning

Question 9

Explain how Baddeley argues that context effects are not very strong in real life

Answer 9

• different contexts have to be very different indeed before an effect is seen for example, it would be hard to find an environment as different from land as underwater
• in contrast, learning something in one room and recalling it in another is unlikely to result in much forgetting because the environments are generally not different enough
  = limitation as it means real-life application of retrieval failure due to contextual cues doesn’t actually explain much about forgetting in real life = Baddeley suggests theory lacks ecological validity

Question 10

Explain how despite skepticism, the concept of context- related cues has useful real-life applications

Answer 10

• for instance, people often report this sort of experience: they were upstairs and went downstairs to get some item but then forgot what they came downstairs for
• however, when they go back upstairs, they remember again
• so in this case, the application is that when we have trouble remembering something, it is probably worth making the effort to revisit the environment in which you first learned it
• this in fact is the basic principle of the cognitive interview, a method of getting eyewitnesses to crime scenes to recall the information by using technique called context reinstatement

Question 11

Explain how context effect may only occur when you test memory in a certain way

Answer 11

• Godden and Baddeley replicated their underwater experiment but used a recognition test of recall
• participants simply had to say whether they recognised a word read to them from a list, instead of retrieving it themselves
• when recognition was tested, there was no context-dependent effect as performance was the same in all 4 conditions whether the environmental contexts for learning and recall matched or not
  = further limitation of context effects because it means that the presence or absence of cues only affects memory when you test it in a certain way

Question 12

Explain how issue with Tulving’s ESP is that it cannot be tested and leads to a form of circular reasoning

Answer 12

• in experiments where a cue produces the successful recall of a word, then we assume that a cue must have been present at the time of learning
• if a cue does not result in successful recall of a word, then we assume that the cue was not encoded at the time of learning
• but, these are simply assumptions as there is no way to independently establish whether or not the cue has really been encoded and lead to succsssful recall
• but research such as Godden and Baddeley does support and so at least provides us with a foundation of knowledge which potentially at least shows a relationship between contextual cues and remembering