Retrieval Failure Flashcards
What is retrieval failure?
A form of forgetting which occurs when we don’t have the necessary cues to access memory. The memory is available but not accessible unless a suitable cue is provided.
What are cues?
Things that serve as a reminder.
What is the ESP and who proposed it?
Encoding Specificity Principle - If a cue is to help us recall information it has to be present at encoding (when we learn it) and at retrieval (when we are recalling it)
If the cues available at encoding and retrieval are different (or are absent at retrieval) then forgetting will occur
What is context-dependent forgetting?
Forgetting due to the absence of external cues
Who did a study on context dependent forgetting and what was the aim and procedure?
Godden & Baddeley (1975) investigated of memory in deep-sea divers, to study CD forgetting
Procedure: Divers learned a list of words either underwater or on land; then asked to recall the words underwater or on land.
1) Learn on land – Recall on land
2) Learn on land – Recall underwater
3) Learn underwater – Recall on land
4) Learn underwater – Recall underwater
In two of the conditions the environmental contexts of learning and recall were not the same…
What were the results?
Accurate recall was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions (conditions 2 & 3)
The external cues available at learning were not the same as the cues at recall, leading to retrieval failure
What is state-dependent forgetting?
Forgetting due to the absence of internal cues
Who did a study on state dependent forgetting and what was the aim and procedure?
Goodwin et al. (1969) asked male volunteers to remember a list of words when they were drunk (3 times over UK drink driving limit) or sober
Participants recalled the lists 24 hours later when some were sober but others had to get drunk again (for the experiment)
What were the SD forgetting studies findings?
They found that if you learn information when drunk, information is better remembered when in the same state later
Strengths
Supporting evidence
Real world application- research such as Coveney has influenced where we sit exams which has significantly impacted students outcomes such as test results
Weaknesses
Retrieval cues don’t always work and prevent forgetting - everyday learning is much more complex than word lists. Cues aren’t necessarily applicable for certain info. Therefore RF isn’t a useful explanation for all situations
