Explanations For Forgetting: Retrieval Failure Flashcards
What is retrieval failure?
A form of forgetting that occurs when we don’t have the necessary cues to access memory
Memory is available but not accessible unless a suitable cue is provided.
What does retrieval failure theory suggest about forgetting?
People may forget due to insufficient cues
Cues are stored at the same time as the memor and cues may not be accessible at the point of recall
Define cue in the context of memory retrieval.
A trigger of information that allows us to access a memory
Cues may be meaningful or indirectly linked to the memory encoded at the time of learning.
What are the two types of cues?
- External (environmental context)
- Internal (mood or state of being)
What is the encoding specificity principle (ESP)?
The cue has to be present at encoding and at retrieval
If the cue at encoding is different or missing from retrieval, forgetting will occur.
- some cues linked meaningfully to info that must be remembered
- others encoded during learning but not meaningfully
List the problems with the encoding specificity principle.
- Cannot test if it occurs
- Assumptions made when a cue equals recall or no recall
- No way of measuring if it was encoded or not
cue = recall, assumed its encoded at learning
cue = no recall, assumed it wasnt encoded at learning
What was the focus of Godden and Baddeley’s (1975) study?
Context-dependent forgetting in deep sea divers
CDF - differences in environment between learning and retrieval leads to forgetting
What were the four conditions in Godden and Baddeley’s study?
- Learn on land and recall on land
- Learn underwater and recall underwater
- Learn on land and recall underwater
- Learn underwater and recall on land
What did Godden and Baddeley conclude about environmental cues?
Groups where the environment at learning matched at recall remembered more words
environmental cues being the same at encoding and retrieval may be why they do better
What limitation did Baddeley (1972) find regarding context-dependent forgetting?
Contexts must be very different for an effect to occur
Doesnt explain much forgetting in real life
- context effect may be related to the type of memory tested
- Godden and Baddeley did a test again with divers with a recognition test instead
- No context dependant forgetting
What is state-dependent forgetting?
Forgetting that occurs when the internal state at learning and recall differs
It was studied by Carter and Cassaday (1998) using anti-histamines making them drowsy
What were the four conditions in Carter and Cassaday’s (1998) study?
- Learn on drug and recall on drug
- Learn not on drug and recall not on drug
- Learn not on drug and recall on drug
- Learn on drug and recall not on drug
What conclusion was drawn from Carter and Cassaday’s (1998) study?
The two groups where the internal state matched remembered more words
This indicates that the internal state at learning and recall must be the same.
What are strengths of both?
state dependent and context dependent forgetting
Studies supported the theory and replicated the same results
Godden and Baddeley and Carter and Cassaday suggesting that retrival failure happens in labs and real life
What did Eysenck (2010) suggest about retrieval failure?
as a strength of both state dependent and context dependent forgetting
Retrieval failure is the main cause of forgetting from long-term memory (LTM)
