explanations for forgetting - retrieval failure Flashcards
what is retrieval failure?
forgetting is due to the inability to access a memory due to a lack of cues.
what is a cue?
any stimuli that helps someone retrieve a memory
Tulving et al. (1983) - encoding specificity principle
recall is most effective when the same cues, conditions or state is present at both the time of coding and the time of retrieval
what is context dependent forgetting?
learning something in one setting but forgetting it in another (external)
Godden and Baddeley (1975) - deep sea divers
divers were given lists of words to learn either on land or underwater, then asked to recall either on land or underwater (4 conditions). those who recalled in different contexts had 40% lower accurate recall than those who learned and recalled in the same context. suggests not having the same environmental cues both when learning and recalling effects memory and leads to retrieval failure.
what is state-dependent forgetting?
learning something in one physical or emotional state and forgetting it in another (internal)
Carter and Cassaday (1998) - drug study
ppts had to learn words either on antihistamine drugs (internal physiological state from alert to drowsy) or on no drugs, and then recall either on or off antihistamine drugs. when internal state and recall were different, performance on memory tests was significantly worse. suggests when internal cues are absent, more forgetting occurs.
+AO3 - research support, Aggleton and Waskett (1999)
museum of Jorvik in York, Viking era experience, constructed town as well as smell of Jorvik. ppts asked to recall details about details about trip to museum, significantly better recall when researcher recreated smell from museum. supports retrieval failure as it shows that using cues improves a persons ability to recall details of an event.
+AO3 - RWA, cognitive interviews
one technique of the cognitive interview is reinstating context, which involves the witness possibly being taken back to the crime scene or to recreate it mentally. this aims to activate cues for the witness in order to retrieve memories from the crime. strength because research on retrieval failure has been very useful to the police force in order to improve EWT.
-AO3 - recall & recognition
Godden and Baddeley replicated their deep sea diver study with recognition, asking ppts if they recognised words read to them from a list rather than recall. there was no context-dependent forgetting and performance was the same in all conditions. this is a weakness as it suggests retrieval failure is a limited explanation for forgetting as it only applies to recall, not recognition.
