Explanations for forgetting: Retrieval failure Flashcards
forgetting
when stored memories in LTM are available but cannot be accessed
retrieval failure
if an associated cue isn’t available at the time of retrieval, you might not be able to access the LTM even if it’s there.
cue
a ‘trigger’ of information that allows us to access a memory
encoding specificity principle
According to Tulving, cues help retrieval if the same ones are present at encoding and recall. If the cues available are different at encoding and recall (or absent) there’ll be some forgetting.
Some cues are encoded at the time of learning in a meaningful way. E.g. mnemonic devices
Other cues are also encoded at time of learning but in a non-meaningful way. Two example of non-meaningful cues are: context-dependent forgetting and state-dependent forgetting.
context dependent forgetting
recall depends on external cues (e.g. weather or place)
state dependent forgetting
recall depends on internal cues (e.g. feeling upset or being drunk).
who did research on context-dependent forgetting
Godden and Baddeley
Research on context-dependent forgetting
Deep sea divers learnt word lists and were asked to recall in one of four 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 condition 2+3 than conditions 1+4
Concluded that external cues available at learning were different from ones available at recall and this led to retrieval failure.
who did research on state-dependent forgetting
Carter and Cassaday
Research on state-dependent forgetting
Participants were given antihistamine drug, they had a mild sedative making p’s slightly drowsy creating an internal psychological state different from ‘normal’ state. P’s learned list of words and later recalled them in one of four conditions
1: learn on drug, recall on drug
2: learn on drug, recall not on drug
3: learn not on drug, recall on drug
4: learn not on drug, recall not on drug
Recall worse in conditions 2+3 compared to 1+4
This is due to mismatch between internal state at learning and recall. So when cues are absent there is more forgetting
Evaluation of retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting (brief)
strength - real world application
strength - supporting evidence G+B and C+C, however have to be very different
weakness - depends on type of memory tested
strengths of retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting
real world application. People often go to another room to get an item but forget what they wanted but remember again when they return to the room. This is due to context-dependent forgetting. Interventions can be put in place to increase recall. This suggests the theory can be applied to everyday life increasing the theory’s validity.
there’s supporting evidence for this theory from Godden and Baddeley and Carter and Cassaday, which show a lack of cues at recall leads to everyday forgetting. Suggesting that retrieval failure is an effective way of explaining forgetting. HOWEVER, Baddeley argues that the context of learning and recall must be very different for any effect to be seen. This means retrieval failure due to lack of contextual cues may not actually explain much everyday forgetting.
weaknesses of retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting
context effects may depend substantially on type of memory of being tested. Godden and Baddeley replicated underwater experiment using recognition test instead of recall. When recognition was tested there was no context-dependent forgetting, performance was the same across all four conditions. Suggests that retrieval failure is a limited explanation for forgetting because it only applies when a person has to recall info rather than recognise it.
