Explanations for forgetting Flashcards
Outline what is meant by inference
The type of forgetting caused by one memory disrupting another
Describe what is meant by retroactive interference?
Where new information learnt interferes with the ability to recall old information
Give an example of retroactive interference
mum asks for old phone number, can only remember new one
Describe what is meant by proactive interference?
Where old memories of info interfere with the ability to learn new information
Give an example of proactive interference
can only remember old address after moving house
Describe the Mcgeoch and Mcdonald case study
-studied retroactive interference
-ppt learned list of words
-ppt given a 2nd list of either words or numbers to learn
-ppt asked to recall first list
-the more similar the second list to the first the worse the recall of the first
What does the Mcgeoch and Mcdonald case study show?
That similarity increases the effects of retroactive interference
What’s a strength and a limitation of the Mcgeoch and Mcdonald case study
A- supports theory, new list interfering recall of old list
D- Low external validity, the time gap between learning and recall in the study is very short, so there’s an exaduration of the effects of interference
Describe the procedure and findings of Baddeley and Hitches study
-asked rugby players to recall all matches in season (inc team names and scores)
-players had better memory of the teams if they had played less games
-but how long ago the matches were wasn’t important
findings
-Shows interference is due to similarity rather than time
What are 2 strengths of Baddeley and Hitches study?
-Supports interference, shows similarity increases interference as more games planed inc interference
-natural study, high external validity shows interference occurs in real life
Describe the Procedure and Findings of Burke and Skrull’s study
-gave ppt magazines ads to recall from memory
-the more similar the products were, the worse the recall
What’s 2 strengths of Burke and Skrull’s study?
In real-life applications, advertisers know not to place similar products near each other or people may forget
-Uses real-life material so high external validity
How does research into the effects of interference have useful real-life applications?
in advertising, we know not to place similar adverts close together as people more likely to forget the products
when revising choose different topic areas rather than revising similar theories close together
what is a limitation of interference theory
time between learning
how is time between learning a disadvantage of the interference theory?
time between learning- most studies have a short time between learning the two sets of materials so it exaggerates the effects of interference
How does using cues effect levels of inteference?
Tulving and Psotka showed that the effect of cues reduces interference
What 3 things effect interference?
-similarity
-time between learning
-use of cues
How do all 3 studies support interference theory?
They all prove similarity increases inteference
Describe the case study of Marvin
-Marvin takes french and Spanish and he mixes up the word ‘chair’ as they are similar languages- shows similarity inc interference
What is retrieval failure?
The reason for forgetting in LTM
It occurs when the material to be recalled is available but it isn’t accessible because of a lack of a suitable cue
What is meant by context-dependent forgetting?
forgetting information because you’re in a different place to when you learned the information
What is meant by state-dependent forgetting?
forgetting information as you’re in a different internal state to when you learned the information
What is meant by the encoding specificity principle?
Tulving
This states that a cue that helps us recall information has to be present at encoding (learning) and at retrieval. If not forgetting can occur
describe the procedure of Godden and Baddeley’s study
Studied- context depending forgetting
Divers learned and recalled a list of words in 4 conditions
1-learned on land recalled in water
2-learned on land recalled on land
3-learned in water recalled on land
4-learned in water recalled in water
describe the findings of Godden and Baddeley’s study
-ppt recalled best if they learned and recalled in the same context/place which shows context acts as a cue for recall
Give a strength of Godden and Baddeleys study
it supports retrieval failure as it shows context/place acts as a cue for recall
What are 2 limitations of Godden and Baddeleys study
-low external validity, don’t often learn word lists underwater
-exaggerated effects of retrieval failure, being on land and in water are 2 very different contexts from each other.
describe the procedure of Goodwin et al 1969 study
he tested for state-dependent forgetting
-asked PPT to learn and recall a variety of tasks (word association) in diff states;
1-learn sober, recall sober
2-learn sober, recall drunk
3-learn drunk, recall sober
4-learn drunk, recall drunk
describe the findings of Goodwin et als study and explain why
groups 1 and 4 performed best because their internal state is the same at learning and recall
what does goodwins study tell us about state-dependent forgetting?
that internal state ascts as a cue for recall so if the state is different at learning and recall this leads to retrieval failure
give a strength of Goodwins study
he was backed up by other researchers
-one found that chewing gum in a lesson and chewing the same flavor gum in an exam on that info acted as a cue
give a limitation of Goodwins study
low mundane realism as the tasks do not reflect things we forget in every day life
what 2 types of cues are there?
context-dependent cues
state-dependent cues
What are context-dependent cues?
Relate to the place we are in when we encode new memory. being in this place when recalling the memory will act as a cue
What are state-dependent cues?
relate to how learners feel when they encode new memories. Being in this state when trying to recall the memory will act as a cue
How do the findings of either of these studies support the effects of state-dependent forgetting memory?
Goodwin- having the same internal state when learning acts as a cue for recall
Godden- recalling in the same place/context as info is learnt acts as a cue for recall
what are 2 strengths of retrieval failure?
-lots of studies to support (Godden and goodwin)
-lots of real-life examples of cues aiding memory
How does research into the effects of retrieval failure have useful real life applications?
Abernathy- found students do better in exams if they do them in the same room where they learned the info
Smith- found thinking about the room you learned it is just as effective
What are 2 limitations of retrieval failure?
-retrieval cues don’t always work
-circular explanation of encoding specificity principle
Why don’t retrieval cues always work?
relying on things like state or context as a retrieval cue isn’t always effective as many things we learn and complicated and multi-faced (more than 1 layer to it) so cues are rarely effective when helping us to remember them
Why is the encoding specifically principle difficult to test?
because Baddeley argued that a lack of cues may not be the reason that forgetting has occurred so we cannot be sure
