Retrieval Faliure as an explination of forgetting Flashcards
What is retrieval faliure
When information is available in the LTM but not accessable due to lack of cues
Who proposed that memory is more effective if cues are available
Endel and Thompson
What did Endel and Thompson propose
That memory is most effective if information available during encoding is available during retrieval
What conditions can affect retrieval
Things not specific to learning, such as environment where it was encoded or emotional state during learning
How did Tulving and Pearlstone demonstrate the value of retrieval cues
They had participants learn 48 words belonging to 12 categories. They had to free recall the words or were given cues in the form of the category the word belonged to. In free recall there was only 40% recall, whereas in the cued recall there was 60% recall.
How did a study on SCUBA divers demonstrate cue dependent forgetting
Godden and Baddely had SCUBA divers learn a word either on land or underwater, and results showed that the highest recall occured when initial learning conditions matched the environment
Who did a study on SCUBA divers and retrieval faliure
Godden and Baddely
How does your mental state impact retrieval of memories
Goodwin et al asked male participants to remember a list of words when they were either drunk or sober. The participants were then asked to recall the lists after 24 hours when some were drunk and some were sober. Goodwin found higher recall for participants who were in the same condition as when they learned the words
How has retrieval faliure been used to improve exam performance
Abernathy found that students recalled information more consistently when initial learning conditions were the same as recall ones. This suggests that students ought to revise in a room where they will be taking exams. While this is unrealistic, imagination can be used to achieve this. Smith showed that just thinking of the room where you did original learning was as effective as being in the room.
Who found that thinking of the room where you learned information is the same as being in the room
Smith
What is the issue with the effectiveness of retrieval cues
Information learned is related to far more complex factors than just retrieval cues. In lots of research on context effects, participants are learning word lists, but when learning more complex information you are learning complex associations less easily triggered by a single cue. This is called the outshining hypothesis, where a cues effectiveness is reduced by the presence of better cues. Smith and Vela stated that context effects are largely eliminated when learning meaningful material
Who suggested that context effects are largely eliminated when learning meaningful material
Smith and Vela
Why are retrieval cues unable to be reliably tested
Retrieval cues cannot be reliably tested and could be correlation rather than cause. Nairne and Baddely both critisised the theory, saying that the encoding specificity principle is impossible to test because it’s circular. If stimulus leads to the retrieval of a memory then it must have been encoded in memory, and if it doesn’t lead to retrieval than it must not have been encoded. However this cannot be proved as it is impossible to test if an item hasn’t been encoded in memory. Therefore cues do not cause retrieval but are simply associated with retrieval
Who said that the encoding specificity principle is impossible to test as it’s circular
Nairne and Baddely
How might retrieval faliure actually explain interference effects
Tulving and Psotka demonstrated that apparent interference effects are actually due to an absence of cues. Participants were given 6 different world lists to learn, each list consisting of 24 words divided into 6 different categories. They were asked to free recall the lists or recall them with cues. The more lists a participant had the worse their recall, evidence of retroactive interference. However when given cues this interferecne disappeared,as they remembered 70% of words no matter how many lists given. This shows information is available but not retrievable and therefore retrieval faliure is the most imporant explination of forgetting
Who found that interference effects can be explained using retrieval faliure
Tulving and Psotka
