Retrieval Flashcards
What is retrieval failure ?
Tulving + Pearlstone - Lack of cues can cause retrieval failure - when information is initially placed in a memory , associated cues are stored as well. If the cues are not available at the time of retrieval , you cannot access the memory.
What is the encoding specificity principle ?
Participants had to learn 48 words belonging to 12 categories. Each word was presented as a category + word e.g. fruit-apple or fruit-orange. There were two different recall conditions. Participants had to either recall as many words as they could or they were given cues in the name of the categories. In the free recall 40% of words were recalled on average, whereas recall with the cues they recalled 60% of words. Cues help retrieval if the same ones are present at both encoding (when we learn the material) and at retrieval (when we are recalling it). If the cues are available at encoding and retrieval cues are different there will be some forgetting.
What is context dependent forgetting ?
Godden + Baddeley - Deep sea divers learned word lists and were later asked to recall them :
Condition 1 : learned on land - recall on land
Condition 2 : learned on land - recall in water
Condition 3 : learned in water - recall in water
Accurate was 40% lower in conditions 2 + 3 as they were different places to where they learned it compared to 1 + 4. Retrieval failure was due to the absence of encoded context cues at time of recall - material was not accessible. Context dependent forgetting - recall depends on external cue.
What is state dependent forgetting ?
Carter + Cassaday - participants learned lists of words and later recalled them.
Condition 1 : learn when on drug - recall on drug
Condition 2 : learn on drug - recall when not on drug
Condition 3 : learn when not on drug - recall when on drug
Condition 4 : learn when not on drug - recall when not on drug
Recall was considerably worse in conditions 2 + 3 compared with conditions 1 + 4. When the cues at encoding are absent at retrieval (e.g. you are drowsy when you learned it but alert and awake when you need to retrieve it) then there is more forgetting. State dependent forgetting - recall depends on internal cues.
What is one strength of the retrieval failure explanation for forgetting ?
P - one strength is that retrieval cues have real-world application
E - people often go to another room to get something but forget what they need and then re-enter the room they thought of it in and remember it - when we have trouble remembering something it’s probably worth going back to the environment you learned it in.
E - this shows how research can remind us of strategies we use in the real world to improve our recall.
What is another strength of the retrieval failure to explaining forgetting ?
P - another strength is the impressive range of supporting evidence
E - for example, Godden + Baddeley , Carter + Cassaday show the lack of cues at recall leads to everyday forgetting - in fact, Eysenck + Keane argue that retrieval failure is the main reason for forgetting in the LTM
E - this evidence shows that retrieval failure due to a lack of cues occurs in everyday life as well as in highly controlled lab studies.
What is one limitation of the retrieval failure explanation to forgetting ?
P - one limitation is that context effects vary in recall and recognition
E - Godden + Baddeley replicated their experiment with a recognition test instead of recall - there was no context-dependent effect at all - findings were all the same in all 4 conditions
E - this suggests that retrieval failure is a limited explanation for forgetting because it only applies when a person has to recall information rather than recognise it.
What is another limitation of the retrieval failure explanation to forgetting ?
P - another limitation is that there is problems with ESP
E - we cannot independently establish whether a cue has already been encoded or not - so the argument for the role of cues is circular
E - therefore, the ESP is not scientifically testable, so we cannot be certain that forgetting is due to retrieval failure.
