Forgetting Flashcards
What are the 2 explanations for forgetting?
Retrieval failure
Interference
What does interference mean?
When 2 pieces of information are in conflict.
Why does forgetting occur in LTM?
Because we can’t get access to memories even thought they’re available.
What are the 2 types of interference?
Proactive
Retroactive
What is proactive interference?
An older memory disrupts a newer one.
What is retroactive interference?
A newer memory disrupts an older one.
Who conducted a key study into interference?
McGeoch and McDonald.
What was the procedure of McGeoch’s and McDonald’s study?
- Participants were asked to learn a list of words to 100% accuracy, and they were then given a new list to learn.
- G1: synonyms (words had same meanings as the original list)
- G2: antonyms (words had opposite meanings to the original list)
- G3: unrelated (words unrelated to original list)
- G4: nonsense syllables
- G5: 3 digit numbers
- G6: no new list (control condition)
What did McGeoch and McDonald find?
- The most similar material (synonyms) produced the worst recall.
- When participants were given very different material (3 digit numbers), the mean number of items recalled increased.
- Shows interference is stronger when memories are similar.
State 2 positives of interferences as an explanation for forgetting.
Lab experiments:
- E.G. McGeoch and McDonald
- shows that both types of interference are very likely causes of forgetting
- lab experiemtns control extraneous variables to increase validity.
Real-life studies:
- Baddeley and Hitch - rugby players
State 3 negatives of interferences as an explanation for forgetting.
Artificial materials:
- word lists
- interference is therefore more likely in the laboratory and may not be a likely cause of everyday ‘forgetting’
Time periods between learning lists of words and recalling them are quite short in lab studies:
- 20 minutes
- doesn’t reflect how we learn and remember most information in real life
Interference effects may be overcome using cues:
- Tulving and Psotka
- gave participants 5 lists of 24 words each organised into 6 categories, recall was about 70% for the first list but fell as each additional list was learned.
- however, when given a cued recall, recall increased again to 70%.
Explain retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting.
- Lack of cues can cause retrieval failure.
- When information is initially placed in memory, associated cues are stored at the same time.
- If these cues aren’t available at the time of recall, you might not be able to access memories that are actually there.
Who came up with the encoding specificity principle (ESP)?
Tulving
What is the encoding specificity principle (ESP)?
- Tulving suggested that cues help retrieval if the sam cues are present at encoding.
- The closer the retrieval cue to the original cue, the better the cue works.
- Some cues have meaning linked to the memory.
- Other cues are also encoded at the time of learning but not in a meaningful way.
What 2 types of forgetting are involved in the retrieval failure explanation for forgetting?
Context-dependent forgetting
State-dependent forgetting
What is context-dependent forgetting?
When memory retrieval is dependent on an external cue (e.g. weather/place).
What is state-dependent forgetting?
When memory retrieval is dependent on an internal cue (e.g. being drunk).
Who conducted a key study into retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting?
Godden and Baddeley
What was the procedure of Godden and Baddeley’s study?
- Deep sea divers learned lists and were later asked to recall them.
- G1: learn on land - recall on land.
- G2: learn on land - recall underwater.
- G3: learn underwater - recall on land.
- G4: learn underwater - recall underwater.
What was the findings of Godden and Baddeley’s study?
- When the environmental contexts of learning and recall didn’t match, accurate recall was 40% lower than when they did match.
- When the external cues available at learning were different from the ones at recall, this led to retrieval failure due to lack of cues.
- The study demonstrates context-dependent forgetting because information was not accessible when context at recall did not match context at learning.
State 2 positives of retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting.
Impressive range of evidence:
- Godden and Baddeley
- Eysenck argues that retrieval failure is prehaps the main reason for forgetting in LTM.
- Increases validity of explanation.
Context-related cues have useful everyday applications:
- when we have trouble remembering something, it’s probably worth making the effort to revisit the environment in which you 1st experienced it.
State 3 negatives of retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting.
Context effects are actually not very strong in real life:
- contexts have to be v different before an effect can be seen (e.g. underwater vs land).
Context effects only occur when memory is tested in certain ways:
- Godden and Baddeley replicated their study using a recognition test rather than recall.
- There was no context-dependent forgetting effect.
- Performance was the same in all 4 conditions.
ESP cannot be tested and leads to circular reasoning:
- no way to independently establish whether o not the cue has really been encoded.
