Explanations for forgetting

Question 1

What are the two types of interference?

Answer 1

• Proactive interference (when old information interferes with new information - affects recall of new)
• Retroactive interference (when new information interferes with old information - affects recall of old)

Question 2

Outline one strength of interference theory as an explanation for forgetting

Answer 2

• Received supporting evidence
• E.g. researchers divided participants into groups, group A asked to learn a list of word pairs e.g. cat-tree
• Then asked to learn second list word pairs e.g. cat-glass were second word is different
• Group B asked to learn first list of word pairs only
• Found group B’s recall of first list word pairs more accurate than group A’s
• Group A often recalled words from second list of word pairs
• Strength because suggests that learning second list of word pairs interfered with participant’s ability to recall first list (retroactive interference)
• Adds credibility

Question 3

Outline one limitation of interference theory as an explanation for forgetting

Answer 3

• Lacks mundane realism
• Researchers use random list of words to test interference theory
• limitation because remembering random lists of words varies drastically from everyday life such as people’s faces, birthdays etc
• More likely to have emotional element and less likely to be interfered with
• Questions mundane realism and validity

Question 4

Outline final strength of interference theory as an explanation for forgetting

Answer 4

• Led to practical applications
• E.g. educational literature suggests to avoid revising similar material within short space of time when preparing for exams
• Interference more likely to occur when two pieces of information are similar
• Strength because demonstrates usefulness in everyday life
• Adds credibility

Question 5

What are the types of cues that can allow for retrieval?

Answer 5

• Context dependent cues (environment)
• State dependent cues (bodily state - mood)
• Category dependent cues (organisation of information which gave it a structure - categories)

Question 6

Outline one strength of retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting

Answer 6

• Received supporting evidence
• Investigated effect of individual’s bodily state by asking participant learn material when either drunk or sober
• Found participants recall was worse when they were in a different bodily state to what they learnt the material in
• Recalling material when drunk was better if person learnt material when drunk and worse when learnt when sober
• Strength because supports claim that absence in state dependent cues can result in forgetting
• Adds credibility

Question 7

Outline one limitation of retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting

Answer 7

• Critics argued that context dependent cues are less strong IRL
• Contexts must be very different before effect is seen
• Was the case when research on a study about land to underwater and vice versa was done
• E.g learning something in one classroom and retrieving in another classroom unlikely to result in much forgetting (not different enough)
• Limitation because may fail to explain much of the forgetting that occurs IRL
• Questions real-life applications

Question 8

Outline final strength of retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting

Answer 8

• Led to practical applications
• E.g. cognitive interview is technique used by police to obtain more accurate and detailed information from witnesses than standard police interviews
• Context reinstatement is technique used where witness instructed to mentally recreate image of situation they witnessed
• Strength because technique aims to reinstate context dependent cues, has been found to produce greater accuracy in recall than standard interview
• Adds credibility