Explanations Of Forgetting: Retrieval Failure Flashcards
What does the retrieval failure explanation of forgetting suggest
-The retrieval failure explanation of forgetting suggests that forgetting occurs when we are unable to access information stored in our memory, due to the absence of necessary cues to retrieve the information, despite the information being available.
What is the encoding specificity principle
-Memory retrieval with cues is more successful when the conditions at the time of retrieval match the conditions when the memory was encoded.
-For example, if you study in the same place where you will take the exam, you are more likely to recall the information effectively.
What are the two types of retrieval failure
-Context dependent forgetting
-State dependent forgetting
What is context dependent forgetting
-If you’re in a different physical environment when you originally learned the information, it may be harder to retrieve that information. This is because environmental cues are absent
What is state dependent forgetting
-If you are in a different emotional or physiological state than when you learned something, it may be harder to retrieve the memory.
Example of context dependent forgetting
-Encoding- outside
-Retrieval- inside
Example of state dependent forgetting
-Encoding- Feeling upset
-Retrieval- Feeling happy
Godden and Baddeley (1975) study on context dependent forgetting
-Deep sea divers were asked to learn a list of words under four different conditions and 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 underwater
-Condition 4- Learn underwater- recall on land
-Accurate recall was 40% lower in conditions 2 and 4, which were the mismatched contexts, than in 1 and 3, the match contexts.
-Retrieval failure was due to the absence of encode context cues at the time of recall and so the material was inaccessible (forgotten)
Results of Godden and Baddeley study on context dependent forgetting
-Accurate recall was 40% lower in conditions 2 and 4, which were the mismatched contexts, than in 1 and 3, the matched contexts.
-Retrieval failure was due to the absence of encode context cues at the time of recall and so the material was inaccessible (forgotten)
Carter and Cassidy (1998) study on state dependent forgetting
-Participants learned lists of words and later were asked to recall them under four conditions:
-Condition 1: Learn when on the drug- recall on drug
-Condition 2: Learn on the drug- recall not on drug
-Condition 3: Learn not on drug- recall not on drug
-Condition 4: Learn not on drug- recall on drug
-Recall was significantly worse in conditions 2 and 4, the mismatched cues, than in 1 and 3, the matched cues.
-This demonstrates that when the cues at encoding are absent at retrieval then there is more forgetting
Results of Carter and Cassagy’s study on state dependent forgetting
-Recall was significantly worse in conditions 2 and 4, the mismatched cues, than in 1 and 3, the matched cues.
-This demonstrates that when the cues at encoding are absent at retrieval then there is more forgetting
Evaluation of retrieval failure explanation of forgetting
-Real world applications
-Supporting evidence
-Context effects vary in recall and recognition
What real world applications are there of retrieval failure
-For example, people often go to another room to get an item However, they forget what they wanted to do when they get there, but remember again when they enter the original room that they were in.
-This shows how research can help us with the use of strategies in real world situations to help improve our memory recall, such as making the effort to recall the environment in which you learned it first.
Counterpoint of real world applications of retrieval failure
-Baddeley argues that different contexts have to be very different for significant forgetting to occur. For example, learning something in one room and recalling it in another is unlikely to result in much forgetting because the environments are not different enough.
-This means that entire al failure due to lack of contextual cues may not explain much everyday forgetting
Evidence that context effects vary in recall and recognitions
-Godden and Baddeley replicated their underwater experiment using a recognition test instead of a recall test. They found that there was no context dependent effect, and instead the findings were the same in all four of the conditions, even if the contexts in which the information was learnt and recalled with matched or not.
-This suggests that retrieval failure due is a limited explanation for forgetting because it only applies when a person has to recall information rather than recognise it.
