explanations for forgetting Flashcards
what are the two explanations for forgetting?
interference
retrieval failure
what is interference?
it is where one memory disrupts the ability to recall another and the two pieces of information conflict with each other, they usually have some similarity
what is forgetting?
this is when interference between memories makes it harder to locate them, known as forgetting
what are the two kinds of interference?
proactive interference
retroactive interference
what is proactive interference?
this is when an old memory interacts with a new one
what is an example of proactive interference?
when you struggle to remember your new phone number as you still remember your old one
what is retroactive interference?
this is when a newer memory interacts with an older memory
what is an example of retroactive interference?
struggling to recall your old phone number as you can only remember your new one
what is McGeoch and McDonalds procedure in the study Into retroactive interference?
they studied retroactive interference by changing the amount of similarity between the two sets of materials. participants had to learn a list of 10 words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy. they then learned a new list. there were 6 groups of participants who had to learn the different types of lists
GROUP 1: synonyms- words with the same meaning as the original
GROUP 2: antonyms- words with the opposite meanings to the originals
GROUP 3: words unrelated to the original ones
GROUP 4: constonant syllables
GROUP 5: three-digit numbers
GROUP 6: no new list- the participants just retested
what were the findings to McGeogh and McDonalds study into retroactive interference?
when the participants then recalled the original list of words, their performance depended on the nature of the second list. the most similar material (synonyms) produced the worst recall. this shows that interference is the strongest when the memories are similar.
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence for retroactive interference’ a strength to the research into interference?
one strength to interference as an explanation of forgetting is that there is supporting evidence for retroactive interference. for example, Muller and Pilzecker gave participants a list of nonsense syllables to learn for 6 minutes and after a retention interval, they were asked to recall the lists. one group of participants were not given an intervening task between initial learning and recall but the other group were. they found that the letters group performance was worse compared to the control group. therefore, this supports the idea that interference does affect our ability to recall information.
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence for proactive interference’ a strength into the research of interference?
one strength to interference as an explanation of forgetting is that there is supporting evidence for proactive interference. for example, Underwood analysed the findings from a number of studies. He concluded that when participants have to learn a series of word lists, they don’t learn the list of words encountered later in the sequence as well as the list of words earlier on in the sequence. therefore, this shows that their old learning was preventing the recall of newer words, and this supports the idea of proactive interference.
AO3: how is ‘used lab experiments’ a limitation into the research of inference?
one limitation to interference as an explanation of forgetting is that they used lab experiments. this means that these studies use stimulus materials that are very artificial such as lists of words. this is not like the things we learn and try to remember in everyday life. for example, we try to learn things like peoples faces and birthdays. therefore, this means that the research lacks ecological validity and may not explain the role of forgetting in real life.
AO3: how is ‘only explains some situations of forgetting’ a limitation into the research of interference?
one limitation to interference as an explanation of forgetting is that it only explains some situations of forgetting. this is because it suggests that it is most likely to occur if two memories are quite similar, however this is often not the case. although interference may play a role in forgetting, it cant be the only reason. therefore, the role of interference in forgetting is a limited explanation.
what is retrieval failure?
this is an explanation for forgetting from the long term memory. it refers to difficulties in recall that are due to the absence of correct retrieval cues or triggers
what are retrieval cues?
a trigger of information that allows us to access a memory
what is the retrieval failure theory?
the reason people forget information may be because of insufficient cues. when information is initially placed in memory, cues associated with this are stored at the same time. if these cues are not available at the time of recall, it may seem as if information is forgotten, but this is actually due to retrieval failiure. (not being able to access memories that are there)
what is the coding specificity principle?
when a cue needs to be present at encoding and at retrieval otherwise there will be some forgetting
what are the two examples of cues coded at the time of
coding?
context-dependent forgetting (external cues)
dependent forgetting (internal cues)
what is context dependent forgetting?
whenever information is learned, we remember where we learned it. if we try and remember when we are in a different context this may leave to retrieval failure and forgetting
what is Godden and Baddeleys (1975) procedure for their research into context-dependent forgetting?
they did a study of deep sea divers working underwater (its crucial for them to be able to remember their instructions on their work underwater)
the divers learned a list of words either underwater or on land.
there are 4 conditions:
learn on land - recall on land
learn on land - recall in water
learn in water - recall in water
learn in water - recall on land
what is state-dependent forgetting?
the emotional/mental state that you are in the time of learning can also act as a cue e.g. happy, sad, drunk, anxious
if you are in a different state, this can lead to retrieval failure and forgetting
what were the findings into Baddeley and Goddens research into context-dependent forgetting?
the external context acted as a cue to recall as the participants recalled more words when they learned and recalled the world in the same environment rather than a different one.
what was the conclusion into Baddeley and Goddens research into context-dependent forgetting?
the external cues available at learning were different from the ones at recall - this leads to retrieval failure
AO3: how is ‘supporting research’ a strength into the research of the retrieval failure theory?
one strength to retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting is that there is supporting research. for example, Godden and Baddeleys research into context dependent forgetting. this is when they got divers to learn things on both land and underwater and asked them to recall them on both land and water. they found that accurate recall was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions. therefore, by having supporting evidence, this increases the ecological validity of the research as the evidence shows retrieval failure occurs in daily life situations and not just in a controlled lab experiment.
AO3: how is ‘context effects are actually not very strong’ a limitation into the research of the retrieval failure theory?
one limitation to retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting is that context effects are actually not very strong. this is because in order to see a difference in retrieval the environments learnt in would have to be very different. for example, it would be very hard to find an environment as different from land as underwater. this means that learning something in one room and recalling it in another is unlikely to result in much forgetting as the environments are not very different. therefore, this suggests that the real life applications of retrieval failure due to contextual cues don’t actually explain forgetting.
AO3: how is ‘real life application’ a strength into the research of the retrieval failure theory?
one strength to retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting is that it has real life application. this is because it can be used to improve recall when we need to. for example, in the cognitive interview used by police, they ask eyewitnesses to crimes to try recall as much information as possible by focusing on the environment, what they were feeling, sounds. this helps them to remember something they may have previously struggled to remember before recalling the environment. therefore, this theory can be applied to the real world as it is used to gather details in police interviews.
AO3: how is ‘lacks ecological validity’ a limitation into the research of the retrieval failure theory?
one limitation to retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting is that it lacks ecological validity. this is because most of the research into the role of context involves learning lists of words. however, in the real world, when we are learning, it often involved learning about complex associations that are less triggered by single cues. therefore, the research lacks ecological validity and prevents the findings being applied to real life settings.
what is the procedure into the research of state-dependent forgetting?
researchers gave anti-histamine drugs to their participants which had a mild sedative effect making the participants slightly drowsy. this creates an internal physiological state , different from the ‘normal’ state of being awake and alert. the participants had to learn a list of words and passages of prose and then recall the information.
they created four conditions:
learn on the drug - recall on the drug
learn on the drug - recall when not on it
learn not on the drug - recall when on the drug
learn not on the drug - recall when not on it
what are the findings into the research of state-dependent forgetting?
in the conditions where there was a mismatch between internal states at learning and recall, performance on the memory test was significantly worse, so when the cues are absent, you are drowsy when recalling information but alert when learning it, then their is more forgetting
