Explanations of Forgetting - Retrieval Failure

Question 1

What is Retrieval Failure?

Answer 1

1) Lack of cues - when info is initially placed in memory, associated cues are stored at the same time —> If cues are not available at the time of retrieval, you might not access memories that are actually there.

2) Encoding Specificity Principle (Tulving) - cues help retrieval if the same ones are present both
(1) at encoding (when we learn the material) and (2) at retrieval (when we are recalling it) - If cues available at encoding and retrieval are different (or if cues are entirely absent) there will be some forgetting.

3) Meaningful links - the cue ‘STM’ leads you to recall lots of material about short-term memory.
Not meaningful links:
• Context-dependent forgetting - recall depends on external cue (e.g. weather or a place).
• State-dependent forgetting - recall depends on internal cue (e.g. feeling upset, being drunk).

Question 2

Context-Dependent Forgetting - Procedure

Answer 2

Godden and Baddeley

Deep-sea divers learned word lists and were later asked to recall them:
• Condition 1: Learn on land - recall on land.
• Condition 2: Learn on land - recall underwater.
• Condition 3: Learn underwater - recall on land.
• Condition 4: Learn underwater - recall underwater.

Question 3

Context-Dependent Forgetting - Findings

Answer 3

1) Accurate recall was 40% lower in conditions 2 and 3 (mismatched contexts) than in conditions 1 and 4 (matched contexts).
2) Retrieval failure was due to absence of encoded context cues at time of recall - material was not accessible (i.e. forgotten).

Question 4

State-Dependent Forgetting - Procedure

Answer 4

Carter and Cassaday

1) Participants learned lists of words/prose and later recalled them.
• Condition 1: Learn when on drug - recall on drug.
• Condition 2: Learn when on drug - recall not on drug.
• Condition 3: Learn when not on drug - recall on drug.
• Condition 4: Learn when not on drug - recall not on drug.

Question 5

State-Dependent Forgetting - Findings

Answer 5

1) Recall was significantly worse in conditions 2 and 3 (mismatched cues) compared with conditions 1 and 3 (matched cues).
2) When the cues at encoding are absent at retrieval (e.g. you are drowsy when recalling material but had been alert when you learned it) then there is more forgetting.

Question 6

STRENGTH of Explanation

Answer 6

REAL-WORLD APPLICATION

1) People often go to another room to get an item but forget what they wanted, but they remember again when they go back to the original room.
2) When we have
trouble remembering something, it is probably worth making the effort to recall the environment in which you learne it first.
—> This shows how research can remind us of strategies we use in the real world to improve our recall.

Question 7

STRENGTH of Explanation

Answer 7

RANGE OF SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

1) Godden and Baddeley (divers) and Carter and Cassaday (drugs) show that lack of cues at recall leads to everyday forgetting.
—> This evidence shows that retrieval failure due to lack of cues occurs in everyday life as well as in highly-controlled labs.

Question 8

LIMITATION of Explanation

Answer 8

CONTEXT EFFECTS VARY IN RECALL AND RECOGNITION

1) Godden and Baddeley
(1980) replicated their underwater experiment using a recognition test instead of recall.
2) There was no context-dependent effect.
Findings were the same in all four
conditions whether the contexts for learning and recall matched or not.
—> This suggests that retrieval failure is a limited explanation for forgetting because it only applies when a person has to recall information rather than recognise it.