Memory - Retrieval failure

Question 1

Retrieval failure

Answer 1

Issues with accessibility of the memory

Question 2

Tulving’s ESP (Encoding Specificity Principle)

Answer 2

Cues to recall information need to be present at encoding of information & the retrieval of it

Question 3

Types of cues

Answer 3

Mnemonics, context-dependent, state-dependent

Question 4

Context-dependent

Answer 4

External environment aids in memory retrieval if the environment is the same (e.g. same classroom)

Question 5

State-dependent

Answer 5

Internal environment aids in memory retrieval if the environment is the same (e.g. same mood)

Question 6

Study of retrieval failure

Answer 6

Godden & Baddeley (1975) - effect of environment (external) on recall using 18 deep sea divers given a list of 36 unrelated words.

4 conditions (learn-recall)
- Beach-beach
- Beach-water
- Water-beach
- Water-water

Results: Beach-beach & water-water had better recall due to context-dependent cues

Question 7

Strengths of retrieval failure

Answer 7

Real world application (Baddeley suggests cues are worth paying attention to even if there is no strong effect [context dependent] - strategies that are used in the real world)
Research support (Godden & Baddeley + Carter & Cassaday - lack of cues lead to forgetting)

Question 8

Limitations of retrieval failure

Answer 8

Research support [however point] (Baddeley suggests context effects are not that strong & have to be extremely different to have a effect on recall)
Recall v recognition (context effects depend on memory type - Godden & Baddeley 1980 replicated study but did recognition over recall and found identical results)
Problems w/ESP (is it possible to independently establish if a cue has been encoded since it is only known at retrieval if it was encoded before)