forgetting

Question 1

interference theory and research

Answer 1

mainly explanation of forgetting information from the ltm.
proactive interference- when an older memory interferes with a newer memory
retroactive- when a new memory interferes with an older memory.
effects of similarity
both pi and ri are worse when information is similar
mcgeoh and mcdonald studied retroactive interference by changing the amount of similarity between two sets of materials
participants had to study and learn a list of ten words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy
they then learned a new list
six groups had to learn six different types of new lists
1 synonyms semantically similar
2 antonyms semantically dissimilar
3 words unrelated to original
4 consonant syllables
5 three digit numbers
6 rested no words- con trol
FINDINGS most similar new list experienced worst recall

Question 2

evaluation (positives)

Answer 2

+ evidence of interference effects in everyday situations
baddeley and hitch asked rugby players to recall names of teams they had played during a rugby season
number of intervening games varied due to missed games
those who played the most games had the worst memory
this increased the ecological validity of the study
HOWEVER conditions for interference are relatively rare this may only happen occasionally in everyday life
this means most types of forgetting can be explained by other theories.
+ retrograde facilitation coenen and lujtelaar gave a list of words and asked them to recall later they found that word recall was poorer after a week under the influence of diazepam compared with a placebo group but when a list was learned before the drug retrieval was better than placebo so the drug actually facilitated recall learned before hand

Question 3

evaluation (negatives)

Answer 3

• interference is temporary and can be overcome by using cues
  tulving gave words organised into catagories one list at a time
  recall averaged around 70% for the first list but progressively decreased as each new list was learned. at the end of the study participants were given cues and recall rose back up top 70%

Question 4

Retrieval failure

Answer 4

Retrieval failure- states that being able to recall a piece of information depends on getting the right cue in this theory the information still exists but is not accessible
We have more chance of retrieval if the cue is appropriate
Cues can be internal eg mood or external eg context

Question 5

Research on context dependant forgetting

Answer 5

Peocesure godden and baddeley studied deep sea diving to see if training on land helped or hindered their work underwater.
Created four conditions for learning a list of words
Learn and recall on land
Learn and recall underwater
Learn underwater recall on land
Learn on land recall
Accurate recall was 40% lower in non matching conditions

Question 6

Research on state dependant forgetting

Answer 6

Carter and cassaday gave antihistamine drugs to participants with have a sedately effect
This creates an internal physiological state different from the normal state
Had to learn prose and recall
Learn on drug recall on drug
Learn no drug recall no drug
Learn on drug recall no drug
Learn no drug
Recall drug when there was a mismatch between internal state recall was worse

Question 7

Evaluation (positives)

Answer 7

Retrieval cues help overcome forgetting in everyday situations for example going to do something and then forgetting going back into the same environment often helps us remember what we needed
+ research support

Question 8

Evaluation negatives

Answer 8

• context effects may depend substantially depend on the type of memory being tested
  Hidden and baddest replicated their experiment with recognition tests rather than information but was the same in all four conditions suggesting only explains information not recognition recall