Explanations for Forgetting: Retrieval Failure Flashcards
What is retrieval failure?
A form of forgetting where a memory is available but not accessible due to a lack of suitable retrieval cues.
What is a cue in memory?
A trigger that helps access a memory. It can be external (context) or internal (state), and may be directly or indirectly linked to the memory.
What does retrieval failure theory suggest about forgetting?
Forgetting happens when we lack the necessary cues to access memories, even though the information is still stored in LTM.
What’s the difference between availability and accessibility?
Availability means the memory is stored; accessibility means we can retrieve it. Retrieval failure occurs when info is available but not accessible.
What is the encoding specificity principle?
Tulving’s idea that memory is most effective when cues present at encoding are also present at retrieval.
What happens when the encoding and retrieval cues don’t match?
Retrieval failure is more likely, leading to forgetting.
What was the aim of Godden and Baddeley’s study?
To investigate the effects of environmental context on memory recall.
Describe the procedure of Godden and Baddeley’s study.
Divers learned and recalled word lists either on land or underwater, creating four conditions (matching/mismatching environments).
What were the findings of Godden and Baddeley’s study?
Recall was 40% lower in non-matching conditions, showing external cues affect retrieval.
What was the procedure of Carter and Cassaday’s study?
Participants learned and recalled information either under the influence of antihistamines (drowsy) or not, creating four internal state conditions.
What do Godden and Baddeley’s findings suggest about retrieval failure?
Contextual cues can play a significant role in whether we remember or forget.
What did Carter and Cassaday find?
Recall was worse when internal states at learning and recall didn’t match.
What was the aim of Carter and Cassaday’s study?
To test how internal states (e.g., being drowsy) affect recall.
What do Carter and Cassaday’s findings suggest?
Internal physiological states act as cues—if they’re missing at recall, retrieval failure is more likely.
How can Paul forgetting his wallet be explained using retrieval failure theory?
His jacket acted as a retrieval cue for his wallet. Without the jacket, the cue wasn’t present, so the memory wasn’t triggered.
What’s an example of real-life context-dependent forgetting?
Going downstairs to get something and forgetting what it was—until you go back upstairs and remember again.
How is retrieval failure used in real-life applications?
It underpins the cognitive interview technique in eyewitness testimony, where recreating the context can improve recall.
What is a strength of the retrieval failure explanation?
It’s supported by a wide range of studies (e.g., Godden & Baddeley, Carter & Cassaday), increasing its validity.
How does type of memory test affect context effects?
In recall tasks, context matters, but in recognition tasks (e.g., identifying words), context effects disappear (Godden & Baddeley, 1980).
What is a limitation regarding context effects?
Contextual differences must be extreme to have an impact; in real life, most environments aren’t different enough to cause forgetting.
What’s a limitation of the Encoding Specificity Principle (ESP)?
It’s untestable—we assume cues were encoded if recall succeeds and weren’t if it fails, making it unfalsifiable.
