Memory - Forgetting Flashcards
Define forgetting
The term forgetting is used to refer to a person’s loss of ability to recall or
recognise something that they have previously learned.
Describe interference theory
Interference theory claims that forgetting occurs when two lots of information become confused in memory.
Interference is more likely to occur when the two lots of information are similar to one another.
Inference is less likely to occur when there is a gap between the instances of learning.
Retroactive interference is when new learning affects the recall of old information.
Proactive interference is when old learning affects the recall of new information.
Evaluate interference theory
strength: Keppel and Underwood (1962) investigated proactive interference. Participants were presented with meaningless three-letter consonant trigrams (E.g. , THG) at different intervals (3, 6, 9, seconds etc.). To prevent
rehearsal the participants had to count backwards in threes before recall. The participants typically remembered the trigrams that were presented first. Keppel and Underwood concluded the memory for earlier trigrams was interfering with the memory for later trigrams.
strength: McGeoch and McDonald (1931) demonstrated retroactive interference. They gave participants lists of words that they had to learn until they could recall
them with 100% accuracy. Participants then learned a new list. This new list was either synonyms (to the words on the original list) or antonyms (words unrelated to the original list). Participants were then asked to remember the original list. Participants given the list of synonyms had the worst recall of the original list. Learning a second list of words that have similar meanings to the first list of words would cause retroactive interference.
strength: This theory has practical applications. Students should be made aware of this theory so that they do not attempt to revise similar content/subjects at the
same time, as this will make interference more likely to occur.
weakness: When interference occurs the loss of information may only be temporary, therefore interference is not a true explanation for forgetting because the information is not actually over-written and is still in Long-Term Memory (LTM).
weakness: Some psychologists argue that retrieval failure is a better explanation of forgetting in everyday life than interference. This theory states we forget when there are not enough retrieval cues to help us remember. Godden and Baddeley (1975) got divers to learn and recall word lists on either dry land or underwater. Results showed that words learnt and recalled in the same context were better remembered as there were retrieval cues in the environment to help them remember the words.
Describe retrieval failure
What are the two cue types?
Retrieval failure argues that forgetting occurs in the absence of appropriate retrieval cues.
When information is initially placed in memory, data associated with this information is stored at the same time. If these retrieval cues are not available at the time of recall, it may make it appear as if you have forgotten the information when in fact you just cannot access it at that time.
Some retrieval cues are linked to the material that needs to be remembered in a meaningful way, for example, the anagram ‘STM’ may lead people to recall all sorts of information about short-term memory.
Other retrieval cues are coded at the same time of learning but not in a meaningful way.
context cues and state cues
Describe the two types of cues associated with retrieval failure theory
Context Cues:
- The environment in which material is learnt can act as a retrieval cues. This means that if you recall information in the same environment that you learned it (e.g. the same classroom) then your recall will be better.
- If you are not in the same context at retrieval as you were at coding then forgetting can occur.
State Cues:
- An individual’s physical state (e.g. mood) can affect their recall. Research studies suggest that recall is facilitated if people have a similar physical state at recall as when the information was coded. If you are not in the same physical state at recall as you were when you learned the information then you might fail to access the information.
Evaluate retrieval failure theory
strength: Abernethy (1940) demonstrated the importance of context-dependent cues. They tested participants’ recall using a mixture of familiar and unfamiliar instructors and teaching rooms. Participants tested by a familiar instructor, in a familiar room, performed the best because the instructor and room acted as retrieval cues.
strength: Godden and Baddeley (1975) also demonstrated the importance of contextdependent cues. They asked divers to learn and recall word lists on either dry land or underwater. Results showed that words learnt and recalled in the same context were better remembered as there were retrieval cues to help them remember the words.
strength: Darley et al. (1973) showed the importance of state-dependent cues. They found that participants who hid money in a large warehouse while under the influence of cannabis were more likely to recall the hiding place when in a similar drugged state.
strength: Retrieval Failure has practical applications. Whenever possible students should learn/revise in the room, in which they will take their final exams.
weakness: Baddeley (1997) argues that the influence of retrieval cues is not actually very strong. In real life, we often recall something in a different context to where we learnt it. For instance, students do not often take their GCSE examinations in the classroom where they learned the information they need for that exam.
What are the different types of long-term memory?
- episodic
- Semantic
- Procedural
Describe in detail episodic memory
Episodic memory is your memory for events, for example your recollection of your first day of school, a family holiday, your last birthday etc.
Episodic memories have three elements:
- specific details of the event
- the context of the event
- the emotions you were feeling at the time of the event. Episodic memories are stored in the hippocampus.
Describe in detail semantic memory
- Semantic memory is your memory for facts and general knowledge about the world, e.g. the capital of England is London and 2 + 2 = 4.
- Semantic memories may also relate to things such as the functions of an object, what behaviour is appropriate in a certain situation, abstract concepts like mathematics and language.
- Semantic memories begin as episodic memories because we acquire knowledge based on personal experiences. There is a gradual transition from episodic memory to semantic memory when memory slowly loses its association to particular events and is generalised.
- Semantic memories are stored in the temporal lobe.
- Sometimes, however, people can have a strong recollection of when and where they learned a particular fact.
Describe in detail procedural memory
- Procedural memory (sometimes called muscle memory) is concerned with motor skills and actions, such as knowing how to tie your shoelaces, knowing how to drive, or knowing how to read.
- Procedural memories are typically acquired through practise and repetition and seem to be more resistant to forgetting or amnesia than other types of LTM.
- We are less aware of procedural memories because they have become automatic and are unavailable for conscious inspection (unlike episodic memories and semantic memories) making it difficult to explain them verbally.
- Often, if you think too much about procedural memories it prevents you from carrying them out, if you really think about what you are doing while riding a bike, you will probably lose your balance.
- It is important that procedural memories are automatic so that we can focus our attention on other tasks while performing these everyday skills.
- Procedural memories are stored in the cerebellum
Evaluate long term memory
(Semantic, episodic, procedural)
- strength: Evidence for the distinction between episodic/semantic and procedural memory has come from research on patients with amnesia. Typically patients with amnesia are unable to store new episodic or semantic memories but their procedural memory appears to be largely unaffected.
- strength: Scientific evidence captured from brain scans supports the view that there are different types of LTM. For example, when asking participants to recall different types of information, different areas of the brain are shown to be active on an fMRI. Episodic memories are associated with the hippocampus, semantic memories are associated with the temporal lobe and procedural memories are associated with the cerebellum.
- strength: Case studies of brain damaged patients offer support for the different types of LTM. For example, Clive Wearing is a man who suffered from a viral infection which damaged his hippocampus. He has no episodic memory and cannot form new semantic memories. However, his procedural memory is intact (e.g. he can still play the piano).
- weakness: Research into the different types of LTM have typically been conducted on individual patients (e.g. Clive Wearing and HM). Case studies are highly detailed and provide a lot of information but are isolated cases of one individual. It would be inappropriate to assume that everyone’s’ LTM is formed in the same way. The findings cannot be generalised to the wider population.
