Retrieval Failure Flashcards
Define retrieval failure
Forgetting information due to the absence of cues; the information is available but not accessible
Define the encoding specificity principle
Cues at learning must be present at retrieval to aid memory
2 types of retrieval failure forgetting
State-dependent forgetting.
Context-dependent forgetting.
What is context-dependent forgetting?
Forgetting due to external cues - when the external environment at the time of encoding and retrieval differs.
What is state-dependent forgetting?
Forgetting due to internal cues - when internal state is different at encoding and retrieval.
Outline research support for context-dependent forgetting
Godden and Baddeley (1975)
Deep sea divers learned a list of words either underwater or on land and then asked to recall the words either underwater or on land, creating four conditions:
1. Learn on land - recall on land
2. Learn on land - recall underwater
3. Learn underwater - recall underwater
4. Learn underwater - recall on land
Recall was 40% lower in non-matching conditions as the external cues available at learning were different from the ones at recall = retrieval failure
Outline research support for state-dependent forgetting
Carter and Cassaday (1998)
Participants were given anti-histamine drugs making them drowsy. They then had to learn lists of words and passages of prose and then recall info, creating four conditions:
1. Learn on drug - recall on drug
2. Learn not on drug - recall when not on it
3. Learn on drug - recall when not on it
4. Learn not on drug - recall when on it
Recall was significantly worse in conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall
Research support for encoding specificity principle
Tulving and Pearlstone (1966):
Participants had to learn a list of 48 words belonging to categories
Asked to recall the words in one of 2 conditions:
Free recall – not given categories
Cued recall – given categories
Participants in free recall condition recalled 40% of words, whereas participants in cued recall recalled 60% of words
2 strengths of retrieval failure
Research support:
- Tulving and Pearlstone (cued recall)
- Godden and Baddeley (deep sea divers - context dependent forgetting)
- Carter and Cassaday (antihistamine drugs - state dependent forgetting)
Real-life application:
Can be used to increase recall in real life situations such as taking exams. Abernathy found students performed better on a test when they took it in the same room with the same teacher as when they learnt the information. Although this may be unrealistic, it has been found just thinking of the room where you revised was as effective as actually being in the same room at the time of retrieval. This is known as mental reinstatement theory .
2 Limitations of retrieval failure
Recall v recognition:
The contexts effect may not apply to all types of memory being tested. Godden and Baddeley (1980) replicated their underwater experiment but used a recognition test instead of recall – participants had to say whether they recognised a word read to them from the list, instead of retrieving (recalling) it for themselves. When recognition was tested there was no context-dependent effect, performance was the same in all four conditions. This suggests that the presence or absence of cues only affects memory when you test it in a certain way. Therefore, retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting is limited as it can only be successfully applied to recall-based testing, not recognition based.
Problems with encoding specificity principle:
Baddeley (1997) criticised the ESP. The fact that it is impossible to test for an item as having been encoded or not means we cannot fully test the ESP, making it unscientific. Therefore, the relationship between encoding cues and later retrieval is a correlation rather than a cause. In other words, the cues do not cause retrieval; they are just associated with retrieval.
