retrieval failure

Question 1

retrieval failure

Answer 1

form of forgetting

occurs when we don’t have necessary cues to access memory

memory is available but not accessible unless a suitable cue is provided

Question 2

cue

Answer 2

trigger of information that allows us to access a memory

cues may be meaningful or may be indirectly linked to being encoded at the time of learning

indirect cues may be external or internal

Question 3

encoding specificity principle

Answer 3

Tulving - reviewed research into retrieval failure and found consistent pattern

states that a cue has to be present at encoding and present at retrieval

if cues available at encoding and retrieval are different there will be some forgetting

Question 4

mnemonic techniques

Answer 4

some cues encoded at the time of learning in a meaningful way eg mnemonic techniques - lead to recalling information

Question 5

context-dependent forgetting

Answer 5

recall depends on external cues eg weather or place

Question 6

state-dependent forgetting

Answer 6

recall depends on internal cues eg emotion

Question 7

research procedure - context-dependent forgetting

Answer 7

Godden and Baddeley
deep-sea divers
4 conditions
learn on land - recall on land
learn on land - recall underwater
learn underwater - recall on land
learn underwater - recall underwater

learned a list of words

Question 8

findings - context-dependent forgetting

Answer 8

two conditions where environment of learning and recall didnt match - accurate recall was 40% lower than matching

external cues available at learning were different from ones at recall led to retrieval failure

Question 9

research procedure - state-dependent forgetting

Answer 9

Carter and Cassaday - antihistamine to participants
- drowsy
- internal physiological state different from the normal state of being awake and alert

4 conditions
learn on drug - recall on drug
learn on drug - recall when not on drug
learn not on drug - recall on drug
learn not on drug - recall not on drug

Question 10

findings - state-dependent forgetting

Answer 10

conditions where mismatched - significantly worse recall

when cues absent then more forgetting

Question 11

real-world application

Answer 11

P - strength can help overcome some forgetting in everyday situation
E - cues may not have very strong effect - Baddeley suggests still worth paying attention too
E - when we have trouble remembering something, worth making effort to recall environment - eye witness testimony
L - shows how research can remind us of strategies we use in the real world to improve our recall

Question 12

research support

Answer 12

P - strength is impressive range of research support
E - Godden and Baddeley, Carter and Cassaday - two examples of state and context and real world life
E - memory researchers Eyesnck and Keane - retrieval failure is main reason for forgetting from LTM
L - evidence shows retrieval failure occurs in real-world situations as well as in controlled lab conditions

P - however Baddeley - context effects are not very strong in everyday life
E - different contexts have to be very different for effect to be seen
E - learning something in one room and recalling in another unlikely to result in much forgetting and environments not different enough
L - retrieval failure due to lack of contextual cues may not be actually explain much everyday forgetting

Question 13

recall versus recognition

Answer 13

P - limitation is context effects may depend substantially on type of memory being tested
E - Godden and Baddeley - replicated underwater experiment - used recognition test instead of recall - say whether recognise word
E - when recognition test - no context-dependent effect - performance was same
L - retrieval failure is limited explanation for forgetting - only applies when a person has to recall information rather than recognise it