Memory : Retrieval Failure Flashcards
What is Retrieval Failure?
An explanation for forgetting that begins with the premise that information is never lost from long term memory. Forgetting therefore occurs because there is a failure to access information in LTM.
What are retrieval cues?
Forgetting occurs because we are unable to retrieve a memory from LTM due to an absence of retrieval cues. There are pieces of information that are linked to the memory we are trying to remember.
Explain how the encoding specificity principle explains retrieval failure.
Retrieval failure rests on Tulvings encoding specificity principle. Stating that if a cue is to help us remember information then it must be present at encoding (when we make the memory) and retrieval (when we try to retrieve the memory). It therefore follows that if cues which were available at encoding are not available at retrieval then a person may fail to retrieve the relevant information from LTM.
Explain context dependant forgetting.
This occurs when context dependant cues which were present encoding are not present at retrieval. Context dependant cues relate to features of our external environment. (Eg location)
Explain state dependant forgetting.
This occurs when state dependant cues which were present encoding are not present at retrieval. State dependant cues are those relating to emotional and physical state are the same during encoding and retrieval.
Explain semantic dependant forgetting.
This occurs when semantic dependant cues (relating to the meaning or sounds of words) present at encoding are not present at retrieval. (Eg. Avoided when we can’t remember a persons name we are told it begins with P (semantic cue) leading us to remember its Peter)
What research supports is there as an explanation for forgetting?
Godden and Baddeley found divers were 40% less accurate when recalling a word list when the environments they learnt the lists in (underwater or on land) did not match the environment of recall, compared to when they did match. This supports the predictions of retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting as when context dependant cues which were available at encoding (the environment where they learnt the words), but not at retrieval, forgetting is much more likely. However, this experiment is fairly artificial as in real life people don’t learn artificially generated lists. Instead they l;earn information with meaning, thus although the artificial word lists in the lab may help to control variable it may ultimately mean the research lacks ecological validity. Making it hard to generalise these findings to the real world.
What is a Limitation of retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting?
It may not apply to all types of forgetting. For example, researchers replicated the Godden and Baddeley experiment but with the change that participants were tested on their recognition of words rather than their recall. In this version, participants all achieved the same score, regardless of their condition. This shows how the context of dependant cues had no benefit of performance, suggesting the context dependant cues have no role in explaining forgetting in a recognition context, even if they do explain in a recall context. Therefore, this doesn’t mean the theory is wrong but it does mean it’s limited in what types of forgetting ot explains.
What is a strength of retrieval failures explanation for forgetting?
That it has real life implications.Using retrieval failure, researchers developed a police interview called the cognitive interview. This interview, which uses techniques like asking the interviewer to report everything that happened. This helps the interviewee generate retrieval cues, and this has been shown to provide more correct information than standard police interviews. This illustrates that retrieval failure has value beyond just providing an academic explanation for forgetting. t shows that the theory can lead to the development of useful applications that can provide a benefit to society. Furthermore, the fact that the cognitive interview appears to be successful provides indirect support for retrieval failure, as it suggests the theoretical principles that support the cognitive interview may also be valid, meaning retrieval failure is an effective explanation for forgetting.
t shows that the theory can lead to the development of useful applications that can
provide a benefit to society. Furthermore, the fact that the cognitive interview appears to be successful provides indirect support for retrieval failure, as it suggests the theoretical principles that support the cognitive interview may also be valid, meaning retrieval failure is an effective explanation for forgetting.
