Forgetting: Retrieval Failure

Question 1

What does the encoding specificity principle state?

Answer 1

Cues have to present at encoding (learning) and at retrieval for us to be able to retrieve information.

Question 2

What does the encoding specificity principle state will happen if cues are absent/different at retrieval?

Answer 2

Forgetting.

Question 3

What is cue dependent forgetting?

Answer 3

The idea that forgetting in LTM is a result of of information currently being inaccessible.

Question 4

What are meaningful cues?

Answer 4

Cues that link meaningfully to the information. Eg: the STM acronym is a cue for short term memory.

Question 5

What are non meaningful cues? Give 2 types.

Answer 5

Cues that are unrelated to the information trying to be encoded.
- Context dependent
- State dependent

Question 6

What is context dependent forgetting?

Answer 6

Forgetting occurs when the location you are recalling in is different to the location information was encoded in.

Question 7

Name the researchers who studied context dependent forgetting.

Answer 7

Baddeley and Godden

Question 8

What was the job of PPTs in Baddeley and Godden’s study?

Answer 8

Divers.

Question 9

How many PPTs were in Baddeley and Godden’s study?

Answer 9

18

Question 10

PPTs in Baddeley and Godden’s study were asked to learn how many words?
How many syllables were in these words?

Answer 10

36 words, each containing 2 or 3 syllables.

Question 11

State the 4 conditions PPTs would have had to learn and recall their list of words in Baddeley and Godden’s study.

Answer 11

Learn on land + Recall on land
Learn on land + Recall in water
Learn in water + Recall on land
Learn in water + Recall in water

Question 12

How did accurate recall in matching conditions compare to accurate recall in non matching conditions? (Give as a percentage)

Answer 12

Accurate recall was 40% lower in non matching conditions than in matching conditions.

Question 12

What can we conclude from Baddeley and Godden’s research?

Answer 12

Context acts as a cue for recall because when you learn in matching conditions, recall is better.

Question 12

What type of drug were PPTs given in Carter and Cassaday’s study?
What were the effects of this drug?

Answer 12

Antihistamine. They made PPTs more drowsy.

Question 12

Name the researchers who studied state dependent forgetting.

Answer 12

Carter and Cassaday

Question 13

What is state dependent forgetting?

Answer 13

Forgetting occurs when our mood or physiological state is different at recall to what it was when learning.

Question 14

In Carter and Cassaday’s study, what were PPTs asked to learn?

Answer 14

Lists of words.

Question 15

State the 4 conditions PPTs would have been placed in for them to learn and recall their words in Carter and Cassaday’s study.

Answer 15

Learn on drug + Recall on drug
Learn on drug + Recall off drug
Learn off drug + Recall on drug
Learn off drug + Recall off drug

Question 15

Describe the findings from Carter and Cassaday’s research. (No percentages)

Answer 15

Accurate recall was lower in non matching conditions.

Question 16

What can we conclude from Carter and Cassaday’s research?

Answer 16

When state dependent cues are absent, there is more forgetting.

Question 16

Explain the strength that there are real world applications for using cues to help with recall.
Use the example of forgetting something in the kitchen.
Research into cues can help to remind us of what?

Answer 16

Although cues may not have a strong effect on forgetting, Baddeley says they are still worth paying attention to. For example, if you go into the kitchen but forget what for, if you return to the room you thought of it in then it may help you to remember, as context acts as a cue. This shows how research can remind us of strategies we use in the real world to help us remember.

Question 17

Explain the strength that there is a large amount of research to support retreival failure theory.
Name the researchers from AO1.
What have memory researchers Eysenck and Keane said is the main cause of forgetting in LTM?
Overall, what does this suggest about retrieval failure?

Answer 17

Baddeley and Godden and Carter and Cassaday’s studies are all just a few of the studies that show how a lack of cues at recall can lead to context/state dependent forgetting in real life. Memory researchers Eysenck and Keane argue that retrieval failure is the main cause of forgetting in LTM, in real life. This shows that retrieval failure occurs in real life and not just in controlled experiments.

Question 18

Explain the limitation that there are problems with the encoding specificity principle.
Use the example that we cannot prove when something has been encoded.
Talk about this and how we have assumed that encoding has occurred in experiments just because recall has been produced.

Answer 18

There is a lot of evidence to say that forgetting takes place when there is a mismatch of cues present at encoding and retrieval. However, we don’t know if it is possible to independently establish whether a cue has been encoded or not/ The reasoning is based off of assumptions: in an experiment, if a cue didn’t produce recall, we assume it can’t have been encoded. If it did produce recall, we assume then it has been encoded. This cannot be proved, so retrieval theory may not be as valid as expected.

Question 18

Explain the limitation that context effects may substantially depend on the type of memory being tested.
Use the example of Baddeley and Godden’s research and explain how their study was altered.
Describe the findings from this study and how they imply that retrieval failure is a limited explanation.

Answer 18

Baddeley and Godden replicated their underwater diver experiment but used a recognition test instead of recall. PPTs had to say whether they recognised a word read to them from a list instead of retrieving it for themselves. When recognition was tested, there was no context dependent effect and performance was the same in all 4 conditions. This suggests that retrieval failure is a limited explanation because it only applies when a person has to recall rather than recognise.