Forgetting

Question 1

What is forgetting?

Answer 1

Forgetting is a failure to retrieve memories from the long term store / memories are ‘lost’
Due to a lack of accessibility

Question 2

Outline interference theory

Answer 2

Forgetting in LTM can occur through interference
Interference is when one set of info competes with another, causing it to be confused in LTM
More likely when 2 sets of info are similar
More likely when there is short time gap between the instances of learning

Question 3

Outline proactive interference

Answer 3

Proactive in when PRevious info competes with new info so the new info is forgotten
Eg get a new phone and give someone your old number instead of your new one

Question 4

Outline retroactive interference

Answer 4

Retroactive is when Recent info competes with old info so the old info is forgotten
Eg you learn French at GCSE and Spanish at A level and find the recent Spanish words outcompete the old French words

Question 5

Evaluate proactive interference using Wickens’ research support

Answer 5

Wickens )1972) gave ppts 4 trials, using same procedure as Peterson and Petersons duration experiment (nonsense trigrams)
The stimuli in first 3 trials was the same / letter based on
But stimuli in 4th trial was number based
Wickens found performance gradually declined in trials 1-3 but the number based trial had almost 100% recall
Wickens concluded that because the material in 4th trial was different, it was easier to remember
The decline in performance In trials 1-3 shows evidence of proactive interference as the old info (trial 1) interfered with the learning of letters in trials 2 and 3 because the info was similar

Question 6

Evaluate interference theory using the artificiality of the research support as a limitation

Answer 6

Interference research often criticised for being artificial
Most research evidence comes from artificial lab experiments which use tasks that lack mundane realism
Eg Wickens (1972) study required ppts to learn and recall nonsense trigrams
These tasks rare in day to day life Therfore research has little relevance to everyday situations
Because of this ecological validity can be questioned and results cannot be applied to forgetting in real world
However, interference effects have been observed in everyday situations eg Baddeley and Hitch’s rugby study

Question 7

Evaluate retroactive interference using research support from Baddeley and Hitch’s rugby study

Answer 7

Baddeley and Hitch (1977) investigated interference effects in everyday setting of rugby players recalling names of teams played against over a rugby season
Some played all games whereas some missed games due to injury
It was found that players who played most games had poorest recall (most interference)
These results support idea of retroactive interference as the learning if new info (new team names) interfered with the memory of old info (earlier team names) causing old info to be forgotten

Question 8

Evaluate interference theory using the application to the real world

Answer 8

One strength of interference theory is research has important practical applications
Chandler (1989) found students who study similar subjects at same time often experience interference, therefore are more likely to forget info
Eg due to similar nature of material, revision of Sociology followed by Psychology should be avoided because one will interfere with the recall of the other
Students should plan there revision effectively to avoid confusion
This a strength as interference research can be used to avoid forgetting and improve recall in important real world situations such as within education

Question 9

Outline Retrieval Failure including the encoding specificity principle

Answer 9

Retrieval failure occurs when people forget information due to insufficient cues
When info is initially placed in memory, associated cues are stored at same time
If theses cues are not available at time of recall it may appear as if you have forgotten the info
However this is due to retrieval failure - not being able to access memories that are there

Encoding specificity principle suggests if cues are not present at the time of recall that were there during encoding, then the info is not accessible and therefore appears forgotten (Tulving and Thomson 1973)

Question 10

Briefly outline Context Dependent Forgetting

Answer 10

Cues are external cues eg associated words, places, smells
The absence of these external cues can lead to Context Dependant Forgetting

Question 11

Outline Context Dependant Forgetting using the Procedure of Godden and Baddeley diver study

Answer 11

Procedure: 18 divers learned a list of 36 unrelated words either underwater or on land and then were asked to free recall the words either underwater or on land
This created 4 conditions (repeated measures design as each diver did all conditions)
Learn on land, recall on land
Learn underwater, recall on land
Learn on land, recall underwater
Learn underwater, recall underwater

Question 12

What were the findings of Godden and Baddeley diver study? (Context Dependant Forgetting AO1 or AO3)

Answer 12

In the conditions where the environmental context of learning and recall were DIFFERENT, ppts were MORE LIKELY TO FORGET (the mean free recall in condition UL was 8.5 and condition LU was 8.6) than the conditions where the contexts of learning and recall were the same
This is because the external cues available were different from the ones available at recall and this led to retrieval failure

Question 13

What were the conclusions made from Godden and Baddeleys diving study?

Answer 13

Forgetting is more likely to occur when the contexts are inconsistent
When info is encoded in memory associated contexts are recorded at the same time
If these contexts are different at the time of retrieval, then it may appear that you have forgotten the info
However this is retrieval failure where you are not able to access memories that are there

Question 14

Briefly outline State Dependant Forgetting

Answer 14

Cues may be internal cues eg mood, emotional state, physiological state etc
The absence of these external cues may lead to State Dependant Forgetting

Question 15

Outline the procedure of Goodwin et als (1969) study into State Depndant Forgetting

Answer 15

Procedure
Male volunteers learnt list words either drunk or sober
Drunk =3 x over UK driving limit
Ppts recalled list words after 24 hours either drunk or sober

Question 16

Outline the Findings and Conclusions of Goodwin et als study on State Dependant Forgetting

Answer 16

Findings: The recall scores suggest that info learned when drunk makes forgetting less likely to occur when asked to recall in the same state later on eg drunk again later

Conclusions: suggest our memory is less likely to forget when the internal mental state is consistent for both learning and recall
If the mental states are different at time of learning and retrieval, then it may appear as if info is forgotten. This is retrieval failure where you are not able to access memories that are there

Question 17

Evaluate retrieval failure using Carter and Cassadays research to support state dependant forgetting

Answer 17

Large number research studies support retrieval failure as explanation forgetting
Includes lab, field and natural experiments so has relevance to everyday memory experiences
Eg Carter and Cassaday (1998) gave antihistamine drugs to ppts to make drowsy
Created internal physiological state different from normal state (awake and alert)
Ppts learnt list words
Found in conditions where mismatch between internal state at learning and recall (eg learnt alert, recall drowsy) performance on memory test significantly worse
Also, Eysenck (2010) argues retrieval failure main reason for forgetting in LTM
A strength as supporting evidence increases validity of explanation
Especially true as evidence shows retrieval failure occur in real life sits as well as in highly controlled lab conditions

Question 18

Evaluate retrieval failure using the application to the real world

Answer 18

Strength of retrieval failure theory is important practical applications have arisen from research
Eg cognitive interview where interviewer encourages interviewee to mentally recreate both psychical and psychological environment of incident
Mental health professionals also use principle to aid therapy sessions and improve recovery from trauma or PTSD by using specific cues during treatment to increase clients ability to recall important details for their own benefit
Helps improve recall as same contextual and emotional cues are present to help retrieve the memories
A strength as rf research can be used to avoid forgetting and improve recall in important real world situations

Question 19

Evaluate retrieval failure using the limitation that retrieval cues do not always work

Answer 19

Limitation of RF theory is context effects are not as strong in real life
Baddley (1997) argued contexts have to be very different before effect seen
Eg in Godden and Baddley (1975) study contexts learning and recall extremely different (land or underwater) which drew conclusion forgetting occurs due to retrieval failure because environment has changed
However, in real world learning info one room and recalling another unlikely to result much forgetting because environment not different enough
Limitation as means real life applications RF due to contextual cues do not actually explain all forgetting, therefore validity of explanation for forgetting reduced

Question 20

Evaluate retrieval failure using the limitation of recall Vs recognition

Answer 20

Limitation is context effects only occur when memory tested certain way
Godden and Baddley replicated study w recognition test instead recall (ppts say whether they recognise word from list)
When recognition test used no context dependant effect and performance was same in all 4 conditions whether contexts of learning and recall matched or not
Limits RF explanation forgetting as presence / absence cues only affects memory when tested in certain way