Memory - Explanations for Forgetting Flashcards
What does the MSM state about the capacity of LTM and duration of memories?
LTM has unlimited capacity and memories have duration potentially for a lifetime
Interference
One memory interfering with another
What may interference result in?
Completely forgetting something or one thing being distorted
Proactive interference
New information is being interfered with by previously learnt information
Example of proactive information
You get a new phone number, but you have difficulties reciting it because your old number keeps on interfering with it
Retroactive interference
Old information is being interfered with by new information. New information ‘overwrites’ previously learnt information
Example of retroactive interference
You get a new phone number but when you are asked to recite your old number, you have difficulties because the new number keeps on interfering with it
Who conducted research into interference in 1995?
Howe
Participants of Howe’s study
4-6 year old children
What were children given to learn in the control condition of Howe’s research?
8 pictures
What did children have to learn in the experiment condition of Howe’s research?
They had to learn two picture lists, one after the other
What were children in the control group asked to recall after 24 hours in Howe’s research?
Items from the picture lists they had learnt
What were the individual experimental groups asked to recall after 24 hours in Howe’s research?
Half of the experimental group asked to recall items from first picture list only
Half of the experimental group asked to recall items from both picture lists
What experimental design did Howe use?
Individual groups
Why did Howe chose picture lists instead of word lists?
Because the age of participants meant that some children may not of been able to read
Results of Howe’s study
Participants who learned both lists experienced interference during storage of lists which resulted in unlearning of first picture list they saw
What type of interference was demonstrated in Howe’s research?
Retroactive interference
What is a natural experiment an example of?
A research method
What are independent groups an example of?
An experimental design
What must be included in a ‘write a hypothesis’ exam question?
Independent variable (s)
Dependent variable (s)
Who carried out research into interference in 1997?
Baddeley and Hitch
What was the aim of Baddeley and Hitch’s research into interference?
To investigate interference theory/effects in an everyday setting
What setting was used in Baddeley and Hitch’s research into interference?
An everyday setting of rugby players
What were the rugby players told to recall in Baddeley and Hitch’s research into interference?
Recall the names of the teams they had played over a rugby season
How many games did the rugby players play over the season in Baddeley and Hitch’s research into interference?
Some players played in all games in the season and others missed out on some due to injury
Time interval for all players in Baddeley and Hitch’s research into interference?
Time interval from start to end of season same for all players
What would the results be like in Baddeley and Hitch’s research into interference if the decay theory was correct?
All players would recall similar percentage of games played as time is the only factor to cause forgetting
What would the results be like in Baddeley and Hitch’s research into interference if the interference theory was correct?
Players who played most games would forget more due to interference
Why was Baddeley and Hitch’s research into interference a natural experiment?
Because the IV couldn’t be controlled
Results of Baddeley and Hitch’s research into interference
The greater number of intervening games played, the lower tje percentage of team names recalled correctly
What theory do the results of Baddeley and Hitch’s research into interference support?
The interference theory as the players who played more games forgot the most amount of games
Positive evaluation of proactive and retroactive interference: research
Supports explanations for forgetting
Positive evaluation of proactive and retroactive interference: Howe’s research
Lab experiment meaning conditions are controlled so extraneous variables won’t effect the findings
Positive evaluation of proactive and retroactive interference: Baddeley and Hitch’s research
Natural experiment shows interference can be an explanation for forgetting as the ecological validity is high
Negative evaluation of proactive and retroactive interference: Howe’s research
Lab experiment meaning results may lack ecological validity which will not be representative of how we forget in everyday life
Negative evaluation of proactive and retroactive interference: Baddeley and Hitch’s research
Natural experiment means extraneous variables cannot be controlled so results may not be highly reliable
Why are cues needed for retrieval of some information?
Because the information is present in the LTM but cannot be retrieved without cue
Example of use of cues (teacher)
Teacher who can’t remember someone’s name will ask for the first letter of it (cue) in order to remember it
Two types of cues
External cues
Internal cues
Where are external cues? With example
In the environment such as a smell
What are internal cues? With example
Cues inside of us like an emotion or mental state
Who carried out a study into context-dependent forgetting?
Godden and Baddeley
What did Godden and Baddeley investigate in their study of context-dependent forgetting?
The effect of the environment on recall
Where did Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting take place?
Scotland
What participants were used in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting?
18 divers from a diving club
What were the divers asked to learn in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting?
Lists of 36 unrelated words of two or three syllables
4 conditions in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting
Learn on beach recall on beach
Learn on beach recall underwater
Learn underwater recall on beach
Learn underwater recall underwater
Mean recall score for participants who leant and recalled on beach in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting
13.5/36
Mean recall score of participants who leant on the beach and recalled underwater in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting
8.6/36
Mean recall score who participants who learnt underwater and recalled on the beach in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting
8.5/36
Mean recall score for participants who learnt underwater and recalled underwater in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting
11.4/36
What did results of Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting show?
Context acted as a cue to recall as participants recalled more words when they learnt and recalled words in same environment
What theory does Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting support?
Theory of context acting as a recall cue
When were the recall results the worst in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting?
When there was a change in context
Why do findings of Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting have to be treated with caution?
Because they don’t tell us how other people (people who aren’t divers) respond
Research method used in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting
Field experiment
Experimental design in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting
Independent groups
Extraneous variables in Godden and Baddeley’s study of context-dependent forgetting
Possible rough weather may distress divers when they were underwater which would take their focus away fro cue/word list
What did Abernathy find about the influence of contextual cues in a study into exam results?
Found that students performed better in tests if they took place in same room as they learnt the informstion
When does state-dependent forgetting occur?
When your mood or physiological state during recall is different from your mood or physiological state when you were learning
Who carried out research into state-dependent forgetting?
Goodwin
Participants of Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting
48 male medical students
What did the participants in Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting do on day 1 and day 2 of the study?
Day 1 they did a training session
Day 2 they went through testing
4 groups participants were randomly assigned to in Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting
Sober on both days
Intoxicated on both days
Intoxicated day 1 sober day 2
Sober day 1 intoxicated day 2
How much alcohol did each intoxicated participant hand in their blood?
100ml
How many tests did participants have to perform in Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting?
4
Which groups performed the worst in Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting?
Intoxicated on day 1 sober on day 2
Sober on day 1 intoxicated on day 2
What group performed the best in Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting?
Sober on both days group
What group performed better than the group with changes of state in Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting?
Intoxicated on both days group
How does Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting support the stat-dependent memory theory?
Because performance was the best if participants were in the same state on both days
Research method used in Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting
Lab experiment
Experimental design used in Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting
Independent groups
Why were individual differences likely to be avoided on Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting? (Positive evaluation)
Participants were randomly assigned to each condition
Why was there a beta-bias in Goodwin’s study into state-dependent forgetting? (Negative evaluation)
Because the sample minimised any potential differences between males and females as the sample was only made up of males
