Explanations For Forgetting Flashcards
What is interference?
When one memory distorts the ability to recall another.
When is interference likely to occur?
When memories are similar.
What is proactive interference?
When old information distorts the ability to recall new information.
🚫New Memory🚫
What is retroactive interference?
When new information distorts the ability to recall old information.
🚫Old Memory🚫
What is an example of proactive interference?
Difficulty learning a new phone number because you remember your old number.
What is an example of retroactive interference?
Difficulty remembering the name of your old form tutor because you learnt the name of your new form tutor.
What are evaluation points for proactive and retroactive interference?
-Lack of real-life application: Howe. participants don’t have the same motivation to remember the stimuli used in an experiment than things which are important to their lives.
-Ecological validity: Baddeley & Hitch (1975).
Summary of Howe’s case study:
Children, picture lists.
IV: 2 picture lists*, 1 picture list.
*retroactive interference.
Summary of Baddeley & Hitch (1975):
Rugby players, recall team names.
IV: played all games*, played some games.
*retroactive interference.
What is cue-dependant forgetting?
When information in the LTM can’t be accessed (due to a lack of retrieval cues).
What is external/context-dependent failure?
Where recall is weaker when one is in an external environment from the place of learning (e.g. smell, place).
What is internal/state-dependent failure?
Where recall is weaker when the person’s (emotional/physical) state at recall is different to their state of the time of learning.
e.g. mood, drunk.
What was the aim of Godden & Baddeley (1975)?
To investigate the effect of environment on recall.
What type of cue-dependant failure does Godden & Baddeley study?
Context-dependent failure.
What was the method of Godden & Baddeley (1975)?
18 divers learnt a list of 36 unrelated words (two or three syllables).
Conditions:
a. Learn on beach, recall on beach.
b. Learn on beach, recall underwater.
c. Learn underwater, recall on beach.
d. Learn underwater, recall underwater.
What were the results of Godden & Baddeley (1975)?
What was the conclusion of Godden & Baddeley (1975)?
Context of environment is a cue for recall.
Why were results worse when divers were learning & recalling underwater (11.4 words), compared to when divers were learning & recalling on the beach (13.5 words) (Godden & Baddeley (1975))?
There may have been choppy conditions underwater.
What was the aim of Goodwin et al (1969)?
To investigate the effect of state on recall.
What type of cue-dependant failure does Goodwin et al study?
State-dependant failure.
What was the method of Goodwin et al (1969)?
48 male medical students participated on day 1 in a training session and on day 2 in a testing.
Conditions:
SS- Sober both days.
AA- Intoxicated both days.
AS- Intoxicated on day 1, sober on day 2.
SA- Sober on day 1, intoxicated on day 2.
[Intoxicated: 100ml alcohol in the blood].
What were the results of Goodwin et al (1969)?
More errors were made on day 2 in the AS and SA conditions than in the SS and AA conditions.
The SS participants performed best in all tasks.
What was the conclusion of Goodwin et al (1969)?
Context of state is a cue for recall.
What are evaluation points for Godden & Baddeley (1975)?
-Limited ecological validity (not an everyday situation).
-Evidence from Abernathy (1940): students performed better in tests if the following occurred:
•they took place in the same room where the learning took place.
•they were administered by the same person who taught the information.
What are evaluation points for Goodwin et al (1969)?
-Limited ecological validity (not an everyday situation).
-Lab experiment with control over variables, establishing cause-and-effect.
-Demand characteristics in the form of participants acting drunk.
-Beta bias (ignoring any potential differences between males & females).
