Memory - Forgetting – retrieval failure Flashcards
What is retrieval failure?
A lack of accessibility to information rather than availability. This can be due to insufficient cues.
Who proposed the encoding specificity principle?
Tulving and Thomson.
What is the encoding specificity principle?
That a queue that supports memory is most effective when the queue is:
– Present at the time of encoding.
– Present at the time of retrieval.
What is a meaningful queue?
Information that is encoded at the time of learning which is stored in a meaningful way.
What is a non-meaningful queue?
Information available at the time of learning which is not directly related to the encoding material, e.g. weather.
What are the two types of non-meaningful queues and what do they mean?
Context dependent forgetting:
Recall is influenced by an external queue, e.g. the weather or a place.
State dependent forgetting:
Recall is influenced by an internal queue EG feeding upset or being drunk.
What was Godden and Baddeley’s study into context dependent forgetting?
Divers learned a list of words either underwater or on land then they were ask to recall the words either underwater or on land. This therefore created four conditions:
Learn on land - recall on land.
Learn on land - recall underwater.
Learn underwater - recall on land.
Learn underwater - recall underwater.
What were the findings of Godden and Baddeleys study 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. The external cues available at learning were different from the ones at recall and this to retrieval failure.
Give a strength into the theory of context dependent forgetting?
Good real-life application for contexts where recall of memory is needed - For example, students could use the theory to help them prepare for exams - This is supported by Grant (1998) who showed context-dependent learning based on whether students studied listening to music or in silence. Students recalled more information under congruent encoding/retrieval conditions, and since exams must be conducted in silence, this informs efficient study practice - useful practical applications in the real world in scenarios with great importance that can affect people’s lives.
Evaluate a limitation of context dependent forgetting.
For there to be an effect on forgetting the context needs to be very different - For example, with Godden and Baddeley demonstrated the effect but on land and in the sea as their condition. This major difference is not a representative example from everyday life and therefore the results may lack ecological validity - Baddeley (1997) himself argues that context affects are actually not very strong in real life This suggesting that learning something in one room and recalling it in another is unlikely to be significant enough for there to be an effect - This is a limitation of the theory as it might mean that context effects are not really significant in real world application which limits its usefulness as an explanation.
Who studied state dependent forgetting?
Carter and Cassaday.
What was Carter and Cassaday’s study into state dependent forgetting?
Carter and Cassaday gave antihistamine drugs to their participants. Antihistamines had a mild sedative effect making the participants slightly drowsy. This creates an internal physiological state different from the normal state of being awake and alert. The participants had to learn the list of words and passages of prose and then recall the information again creating for conditions:
1. Learn on drugs – recall when on it.
2. Learn on it – recall when not on it.
3. Learn not on drug – recall when on it.
4. Learn not on it – recall when not on it.
What were the findings of Carter and Cassadays study into state-dependent forgetting?
In the conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall performance and the memory test was significantly worse so when the queues are absent then there is more forgetting.
Give us strength of research into retrieval failure.
There is a wealth of evidence suggesting it is a reliable finding - studies such as Carter and Cassaday, Godden & Baddeley all showed that the same effect of dependent forgetting. these studies are also in a range of setting both land in natural environments and they all find the same consistent results - the concept is also a phenomena reported widely in real life. Sometimes people walk into a room to trigger a memory - despite the result of studies lacking ecological validity the effect does seem to be present in real life situations to.
What is a limitation of the encoding specificity principle?
It cannot be tested because it leads to circular reasoning in experiments - Nairne criticised what he calls the myth of the encoding retrieval match where a cue produces the successful recall of a word we assume that the cue must’ve been encoded at the time of learning if a queue does not result in a successful recall then we assumed that the queue was not encoded - these are only assumptions and cannot be tested. These results are therefore only correlational and not causational - This is a weakness as the principal cannot be tested using rigourous scientific principles which is fundamental to psychology today.
