Explanation For Forgetting

Question 1

What are the explanations of forgetting

Answer 1

Interference theory and retrieval failure

Question 2

What is the interference theory

Answer 2

When we forget things because one memory has disrupted or interfered with another memory

Question 3

What are the 2 types of interference

Answer 3

Proactive and retroactive

Question 4

What us proactive interference

Answer 4

Previously learnt information interferes with the new information you sre tyring to store

Question 5

What js retroactive interference

Answer 5

A new memory interfere with older ones

Question 6

Who presented the key study

Answer 6

McGeoch and McDonald

Question 7

What was the procedure of the key study

Answer 7

-Participants given a list of ten words to learn off my heart.
- Asked to learn the lists of words until they could remember then with 100% accuracy. They were then given a new list to learn (varied in similarity).
- there were six different conditions

Question 8

What were the 6 different conditions

Answer 8

1.Synonyms
2. Antonyms
3. Words unrelated to original
4. Nonsense syllables
5. Three digit numbers
6. No new list - they were just retested

Question 9

What were the finding and conclusions

Answer 9

• The most similar material (synonyms) produced worse recall.
• When given three digit numbers - mean number of items recalled increased.
• Interference is strongest when memories are similar.
• Group 1: words with the same meaning as the original list blocked access or the new material became confused with the old material.

Question 10

What is the first strength of interference in memory

Answer 10

Evidence from lab studies consistently demonstrates interference in memory:
● There have been thousands of lab studies into explanations of forgetting.
● Most of these studies show than both types of interference are very likely to
cause forgetting from LTM.
● This is a strength because lab experiments control the effects of and thus give us confidence that interference is a valid explanation.

Question 11

What is the second strength

Answer 11

Real life studies support the explanation:
● Baddeley and Hitch (1977) asked rugby players to try and remember the names of the teams they has played so far in that season, week by week.
● The results showed than accurate recall did not depend on how long ago the matches took place. Much more important was the number of games they has played in the meantime.
● So a players recall of a team from three weeks ago was better if they had played no matches since then.

Question 12

What is the limitation of interference in memory

Answer 12

The use of artificial materials:
● Stimulus used in most studies are lists of words.
● It is more realistic than using consonant syllables, however it is still quite different from the things we remember in everyday life (peoples faces, birthdays etc.)
● This is a limitation because the use of artificial tasks makes interference much more likely in a lab. It may not be as likely as an explanation for forgetting outside the lab.

Question 13

What is another reason why forgetting occurs

Answer 13

In LTM it is mainly due to retrival failure

Question 14

What is retrieval failure and why does it happen

Answer 14

Information that is available but you can’t access it and it happens due to insufficient cues

Question 15

What are the two type of ways cues are encoded

Answer 15

Environmental and mental

Question 16

What is the encoding specificity principle

Answer 16

“Memory is most effective if the information that is present at learning is also present at the
time of retrieval.”

Question 17

Who proposed the encoding specificity principle

Answer 17

Tulving and Thompson

Question 18

What is the relationship between cues and recall

Answer 18

the more cues a person is exposed to, whether environmental or mental, the more likely they are to remember

Question 19

What are the 2 types of cues

Answer 19

.Context dependent forgetting
.State depending forgetting

Question 20

What is context depending forgetting

Answer 20

is when memory retrieval is dependent on the external/environmental cue (weather or place) that was present at the time of learning

Question 21

What is state dependent forgetting

Answer 21

is when memory retrieval is dependent on the internal cue - state of mind (upset, happy) that was present at the time of learning

Question 22

Who investigated the effect of contextual cues on recall

Answer 22

Godden and Baddeley

Question 23

What did Gooden and Baddeley use for their experiment

Answer 23

They did a novel experiment using divers

Question 24

What was the aim of Godden and Baddeleys experiment

Answer 24

To look at how external cues at the time of encoding affected recall

Question 25

What was the procedure of Goddens and Baddeleys

Answer 25

They used deep sea divers and then they learned a list of words underwater or on land and then they had to call the words on either water or land and with this there were 4 conditions

Question 26

What were the 4 conditions for Godden and Baddeleys research

Answer 26

1: Learn on land - recall on land
2: Learn on land - recall underwater
3: Learn underwater - recall on land
4: Learn underwater - recall underwater.

Question 27

What were the findings/conclusions on Godden and Baddeleys research

Question 28

What is the strength of Godden and Baddeleys reasearch

Question 29

What are the limitations of Godden and Baddeleys reasearch