M6. EFF: Retrievak Faliure

Question 1

Retrieval Failure

Answer 1

• forgetting occurs when ‘cues’ (triggers of information recollection) which are present at the time of coding, aren’t present at the time of recall

Question 2

Types of ‘Forgetting’

Answer 2

context-dependant, state-dependant

Question 3

Context-Dependant

Answer 3

• external cues at time of coding don’t match external cues at time of recall
• Godden and Baddley: words learnt/recalled on either land/water: recall under matching conditions (water/water) was significantly larger than non-matching conditions

Question 4

State-Dependant

Answer 4

• internal cues at time of coding don’t match those at time of recall
• Carter and Cassaday: used matching and non-matching external conditions; as well as anti-histamines in order to change internal cues at encoding/recall times
• 40% higher accurate recall rates in matching condition

Question 5

• Eval: Ecological Validity

Answer 5

• difficult to find everyday conditions that are as polar as water and land; question the existence of context effects in everyday life
• only useful as explanation for forgetting where associated cues are uncommonly distinct; only then can the experiment findings be generalised

Question 6

• Eval: Retrieval Failure as an explanation for some types of memory, not ALL

Answer 6

• Godden and Baddley repeated underwater experiment but tested for recognition on learnt words, as opposed to recall. Found no significant difference in accuracy of recognition between matched and non-matched conditions
• suggests RF limited; only explains some types of memory tested in specific ways under certain conditions (POOR generalisability)