Retrieval failure theory

Question 1

What is retrieval failure?

Answer 1

Retrieval failure- not being able to access memories that are there,
- insufficient cues are why people forget
cues are associated with information when they are initially placed in the memory.

Question 2

What is the encoding specificity principle?

Answer 2

Encoding specificity principle (Tulving) states that cues need to be present at encoding and retrieval in order for them to be recalled. There will be some forgetting if cues are different or absent.

Question 3

Research for context-dependent forgetting:

Answer 3

Godden and Baddeley had 18 divers who had to learn a list of words either underwater or on land. They had to recall this list either underwater or on land. This created 4 conditions. They found that recall dropped by 40% when the context was mismatched.

Question 4

Research for state-dependent forgetting:

Answer 4

Goodwin et al had male volunteers learn a list of words either drunk or sober. 24 hours later they were asked to recall them either drunk or sober. They found that recall was better when the states were the same at encoding and retrieval.

Question 5

Support for the Retrieval failure theory
(Matching evidence)

Answer 5

There is empirical evidence to support the theory (e.g.Godden and Baddeley, Goodwin). There has been lab, field and anecdotal evidence conducted to support the theory. This shows that retrieval failure can occur in real-life settings as well as highly controlled lab experiments. This increases the validity of the theory as it has relevance to every day life.

Question 6

Weaknesses for the Retrieval failure theory
(Replication, Recognition)

Answer 6

Godden and Baddeley replicated their underwater experiment but used a recognition task instead of their free recall task. They found that there was no context effect in any of the conditions. This is a further limitation as there is an absence of cues only when memory is tested in a certain way.