Explanations for forgetting: RETRIEVAL FAILURE THEORY Flashcards
Retrieval failure theory
Retrieval failure- not being able to access memories that are available
* Memories require cues to help support it.
* Forgetting takes place because of insufficient cues
* theory is based on the encoding specificity principle (Tulving)
* Tulving: “if a cue is to help us recall information it has to be present at encoding (when we learnt the material) and at retrieval (when we are recalling it)
* “If cue available at encoding and retrieval are retrieval are different or absent, there will be some forgetting
What are the 2 types of forgetting?
- Context dependent forgetting
- State dependent forgetting
Context dependent forgetting
mismatch between the environment in which information is learned + environment in which information is recalled
* e.g. learning in a classroom + doing the exam in the same room
State dependent forgetting
mismatch between the mental state in which information is learned + mental state in information is recalled
e.g. crying in revision means to cry in exam for good retrieval
Evaluation:
+ Supported by Goodwin et al
+ Godden + Baddeley
+ Real-life application
- Difficult to test the encoding specifity principle
+ Carter & Cassady
+ Tulving & Pearlstone
Goodwin et al
- Supportive evidence from Goodwin et al * (1969) investigated the effect of alcohol on state- dependent retrieval
- found that when they people encoded information when drunk, they were more likely to recall in the same state
- E.g. when they in hid money when they were drunk, they were unlikely to find it when sober. However, when they were drunk again, they often discovered the hiding place
- it supports state dependent forgetting
Godden + Baddeley
supportive evidence for context dependent forgetting
* study consisted of deep sea divers
* divers learned a list of words either underwater or on land and the asked them to recall in 4 conditions:
1. Learn on land, recall on land
2. Learn on land, recall underwater
3. Learn underwater, recall on land
4. Learn underwater, recall underwater
* Accurate recall was 40% lower in non-matching conditions
* External cues available at learning were different from ones at recall and this led to retrieval failure
* supporting study increases validity of explanantion
- The study is not applicable to everyday life/ real life situations. Its very hard to find an environment as different from land as underwater. Therefore, the theory isn’t very useful in explaining much forgetting because it lacks ecological validity.
Real-life application
Context dependent forgetting may explain some everyday examples.
* People often report experiences of going into a room to get an item but forgetting what they came in for
* When they go back into the room they came from, they tend to remember again
* In real life, when we forget something it may be worth going to the environment in which you encoded it
* Useful for psychologists who have embedded this principle into cognitive interviews when interviewing eyewitnesses
Difficult to meausure encoding specifity principle
Its difficult to accurately test the encoding specifity principle
* When a cue produces the successful recall of a word, its assumed that the cue must have been encoded during the time of learning
* However, its difficult to establish whether or not the cue has really been encoded
Carter & Cassidy (1988)
Supportive evidence for state dependent forgetting
* C & C gave anti-histamine drugs to ppts
* Drugs make ppts feel slightly drowsy, therefore altering the internal state of mind
* Ppts had to learn a list of words in 4 different conditions:
1. Learn on drug, recall on drug
2. Learn on drug, recall when not on drug
3. Learn not on drug, recall when on drug
4. Learn not on drug, recall on drug
* Ppts recalled significantly less number of words in conditions when there’s a mismatch between the internal state at learning and recall
* Supoorts retrieval failure theory because it demonstates state dependent forgetting and how a change in mental state leads to forgetting
Tulving + Pearlstone (1966)
Supportive evidence for retrieval failure theory
* Asked ppts to learn a list of words belonging to different categories e.g. names of animals, sports, etc
* Ppts were asked to recall the words
* control group were asked to recall without being the category names
* Experimental group were given category names
* Those who were given categories recalled more words than those who were not
* Supports theory because it shows the category names acted as cues to aid/trigger memory
