Explanations For Forgetting: Retrieval Failure

Question 1

What are the 3 main parts of retrieval failure?

Answer 1

The encoding specificity principle
Context dependent forgetting
State dependent forgetting

Question 2

Explain the encoding specificity principle

Answer 2

Encoding specificity principle is the idea that memory is most effective if information that was present at encoding is also available at the time of retrieval. (Cues)

Question 3

Explain context dependent forgetting

Answer 3

Context dependent forgetting is the idea that our memory performance is reduced when our environment is different from the environment that the information was encoded in.

Question 4

Explain state dependent forgetting

Answer 4

State dependent forgetting is the idea that memory performance reduces when you are in a different state when encoding and retrieving. E.g. drunk when learning, sober when retrieving. To best performance both drunk or both sober.

Question 5

Outline one criticism of retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting

Answer 5

One limitation is that the relationship between encoding cues and later retrieval is a correlation rather than a cause. If a stimulus leads to retrieval of a memory then, it must have been encoded in the memory. If it does not lead to retrieval than, according to the encoding specificity principle, it can’t have been encoded in memory. But it is impossible to test for something that hasn’t been encoded in memory.

Question 6

Outline one strength of retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting

Answer 6

A strength of retrieval failure explanation is it’s ability to explain interference effects. The more lists a participant has to learn the worse their recall is - evidence of proactive interference. However when participants were given cued recall, the effects of interference disappeared - they remembered about 70% of the words.