explanations for forgetting

Question 1

what are the three explanations for forgetting?

Answer 1

-interference theory
-cue-dependant forgetting
-repression

Question 2

what is the interference theory?

Answer 2

-sees forgetting as due to info in the LTM becoming confused with/disrupted by other info during coding, causing inaccurate recall
-2 forms of interference

Question 3

what are the 2 forms of interference for the IT?

Answer 3

-proactive (works forward in time, info stored previously interferes with recalling something new, eg your old phone number stopping you from remembering your new one)
-retroactive (works back in time, coding new info disrupts info already stored, eg your new phone number makes you unable to recall your old one)

Question 4

how is interference researched?

Answer 4

-get participants to learn two lists of word pairs, where the first word of each pair is the same on the two lists
-when asked to recall a pair, if they say the pair from the first list, its proactive, if its from the second list its retroactive

Question 5

what was schmidt et al’s research on interference?

Answer 5

211 ps questionnaire, 11-79 y/o, given a map of the neighbourhood with all 48 street names replaced with numbers, asked to recall them
-other details recorded - how many times they moved, where they lived, how long
-retroactive interference assessed by the number of times they had moved, 25% had never moved, one had moved 40 times
-extraneous variables could have confounded the results
-methodology reflected real life

Question 6

research on the interference theory

Answer 6

-abel + bauml 2013 - got p’s to remember either a single list of words or 2 lists, (first word being the same on both), p’s tested on their memory after 12 hours of either being awake or asleep, found sleep reduced proactive and retroactive interference

Question 7

evaluate the interference theory

Answer 7

-main criticism is that it only explains forgetting 2 pieces of info that are similar, which doesn’t happen often
-research uses lab conditions with artificial tasks, lacks mundane realism
-studies show interference happens, but not how it happens (cog process)
-more research on cue-dependent forgetting

Question 8

what is cue-dependent forgetting?

Answer 8

a type of forgetting based on failure to retrieve the prompts that trigger recall
(info is in LTM but can’t be accessed)

Question 9

what are retrieval cues?

Answer 9

human equivalent on labels on files, essential for recall by remembering the cue under which the memory is stored

Question 10

what did Tulving contribute to cue-dependent forgetting?

Answer 10

-encoding-specificity principle
-recall is hindered if the context of recall is different to the context of coding
-effectiveness of the retrieval cue is dependant on how overloaded it is (the fewer items associated with it, the more effective)

Question 11

what are the two main forms of CDF?

Answer 11

-context-dependent failure
-state-dependent failure

Question 12

what is context-dependent failure?

Answer 12

external retrieval cues, environment of recall is different to the environment at coding

Question 13

research on context-dependent failure

Answer 13

-godden + baddeley 1975 - got divers to learn material either on land or underwater, then recall is on land or under water (4 groups; DxD, DxU, UxU, UxD), found recall was worse when in different context

Question 14

what is state-dependant failure?

Answer 14

-internal retrieval cues, a person’s internal environment is different at recall to coding, eg emotional state, intoxicated

Question 15

research on state-dependent failure

Answer 15

-darley et al 1973 - p’s who hid money while high on marijuana were less able to recall where they hid it when sober compared to when high again

Question 16

evaluate cue-dependent forgetting

Answer 16

-studies are lab based, don’t use everyday tasks, lacks mundane realism
-godden + Baddeley’s findings only occurred when divers had to free-recall items. when given a recognition test, context didn’t matter, so it can’t explain all forms of forgetting
-fits the levels of processing theory, stating the more deeply coded the easier it is to retrieve
-many psychologists see CDF as the main explanation for forgetting due to the extensive research support

Question 17

what is repression?

Answer 17

placing traumatic memories into the unconscious mind to reduce the anxiety they can produce

Question 18

why is repression contraversial?

Answer 18

repressed memories ‘recovered’ during memory therapy are often false (false memory syndrome)
believed it’s because therapists unknowingly plant false memories into clients

Question 19

research on repression

Answer 19

-williams 1994 - investigated women who were sexually assaulted in childhood, 38% had no recall, 16% remembered now but had no recall at some point, also found the earlier the abuse occurred, the less likely it would be remembered
-holmes 1990 - reviewed 60 years of research, found no solid evidence

Question 20

evaluate repression

Answer 20

-william’s study is criticised bcs it’s unknown if the original abuse diagnosis was correct, might not have happened, or women could fake not remembering just to not talk about it
-false memory syndrome weakens support, as the ‘retrieved’ memories could be fake, it’s banned by american psychiatric association, and BPS says there’s no evidence to support the concept
-several ‘successful’ court cases in the USA involved retrieval of repressed memories being false, so the defendant was awarded compensation

Question 21

what are the 2 theories of forgetting in STM?

Answer 21

-trace decay (gradual fading of a memory over time, memories have a physical trace called an engram which decays)
-displacement theory (limited capacity in STM means new info displaces old)

Question 22

research on STM forgetting theories

Answer 22

-TD-peterson and peterson 1959 nonsense trigrams, decayed after 18 seconds
-DT-waugh + norman 1965 - numbers better recalled from the end of a list rather than start, suggesting end displaced the start

Question 23

evaluate STM forgetting theories

Answer 23

-TD- could be displaced rather than decayed, eg P&P study, the trigrams could have been replaced with the numbers rehearsed, but it explains STM and LTM, so has universal application
-DT-only explains STM as LTM capacity is limitless, explains recency effect (newest info recalled better)