memory: explanations for forgetting -> retrieval failure Flashcards
What is retrieval failure?
A form of forgetting which occurs when we don’t have the necessary cues to access memory
- the memory is available but not accessible unless a suitable cue is provided
Who proposed the encoding specificity principle?
Endel Tulving (1983)
What is the encoding specificity principle?
States that a if a cue is going to be helpful, it has to be both:
- 1. present at encoding
- 2. present at retrieval
What are the two types of forgetting?
- context-dependent forgetting
- state-dependent forgetting
What is context-dependent forgetting?
When recall in the environment is different from where learning took place
What is state-dependent forgetting?
When the physical or psychological state is different from when learning took place
Who did research into context-dependent forgetting?
Godden and Baddeley (1975)
Describe the procedure of the research into context-dependent forgetting:
- The divers learned a list of words either underwater or on land
- They were then asked to recall the words either underwater or on land
- this created four conditions of learning on land or recalling on land and learning underwater or recalling underwater
Describe the findings of the research into context-dependent forgetting:
- In two of these conditions, the environmental contexts of learning and recall matched, whereas in the other two they did not
- accurate recall was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions
- concluded that external cues available at learning were different from the ones available at recall and this led to retrieval failure
Who did research into state-dependent forgetting?
Carter and Cassaday (1998)
Describe the procedure of research into state-dependent forgetting:
- Gave pps antihistamine drugs
- The antihistamines had a mild sedative effect making the pps slightly drowsy
- this creates an internal physiological state different from the ‘normal’ state
- pps had to learn lists of words and passages of prose and then recall the info, again creating four conditions
Describe the findings of research into state-dependent forgetting:
In the conditions where there was a mismatch between the internal state at learning and recall, performance on the memory test was significantly worse
- when cues are absent, there is more forgetting
Evaluation: Real-world application -> strength
- Retrieval cues can help to overcome some forgetting in everyday situations
- e.g. Students can develop effective revision strategies
- theories like context cues improving recall have been used in the development of an effective police technique called the cognitive interview
- Research can remind us of strategies we use in the real world to improve our memory recall and reduce forgetfulness
Evaluation: Recall versus recognition -> limitation
- Context effects may depend substantially on the type of memory being tested
- Godden and Baddeley (1980) replicaed their underwater experiment but used a recognition test instead of recall
- when recognition was tested there was no context-dependent effect, performance was the same in all four conditions
- suggests retrieval failure is a limited explanation for forgetting bc it only applies when a person has to recall information rather than recognise it
Evaluation: Problems with the ESP -> limitation
- there is a lot of evidence that forgetting takes place when there is a mismatch of encoding and retrieval cues (Tulving’s ESP)
- However, it’s not possible to independently establish whether a cue has been encoded or not
- the reasoning is circular and based on assumptions
- This creates validity issues
- however, there is a range of research that supports the retrieval failure explanation such as Godden and Baddeley and Carter and Cassaday
- shows that retrieval failure occurs in real-world situations as well as in highly controlled conditions of the lab, making it a reliable explanation
