Improving Retrieval Flashcards
What does the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve show?
Memory gets worse very quickly, but after an hour it slows down (but slowly continues getting worse).
What is hypermnesia?
The idea that memory can improve over time with repeated testing.
What are the underlying 2 processes to hypermnesia?
Forgetting (low) & reminiscence (high).
What is a practical use for hypermnesia?
Repeated recalls of crime.
What are some issues with repeated testing?
- Recall may be partly down to limited recall time
How can giving yourself more time increase retrieval?
Allows material to come available later on.
What is the Encoding Specificity Model?
Matching cues at the time of learning with cues at the time of retrieval.
What is an example of a study into context dependent memory?
Divers’ memories (Godden & Baddeley, 1975).
What did Goodwin et al.’s (1969) study into state dependent memory with alcohol show?
Although alcohol generally impairs memory, students show a strong state dependency effect.
What is the Pollyanna Principle?
Generally, people remember positive things over negative stuff.
What is mood congruent memory?
We tend to recall information congruent with our current mood.
What is mood dependency?
Things you learnt when you’re smiling, things are easier to retrieve when you’re smiling (eg.).
Why is it hard to prove mood dependency?
You need 4 different groups:
- Encode positive: Good performance
- Encode positive: Bad performance
- Encode negative: Bad performance
- Encode negative: Good performance
What are the 4 steps of the Cognitive Interview Technique?
- Remember context of event (eg. weather)
- Report every detail
- Report in different time orders
- Report from different perspectives
What % increase did Geiselman et al. (1986) find from using a standard interview to the cognitive interview?
25% increase.
What is an attitude/behaviour change manipulation?
We tend to modify our past attitudes/behaviours to comply with our current attitudes.
We are retrieving past occurrences that relate to our current attitudes.
Why do we sometimes have state-incongruent retrieval in everyday life?
To justify things.
(eg. bad before a course, better after - justifying taking the course)
Social reasons can override lab findings.
