retrival failure Flashcards
What is retrieval failure?
A form of forgetting that occurs when there are not the necessary cues to access memory.
The memory is available but not accessible unless a suitable cue is provided.
What is context-dependent forgetting?
Forgetting that occurs when the environment during recall is different from the environment when learning occurred.
For example, forgetting information learned in one classroom while in a different exam room.
What is state-dependent forgetting?
Forgetting that occurs when a person’s mood or physiological state during recall is different from the mood they were in when they were learning.
This can include differences in emotional state or physical condition.
What is a cue in the context of memory retrieval?
A trigger of information that allows a person to access a memory.
Cues may be meaningful or indirectly linked and can be external or internal.
What does the theory of retrieval failure suggest about forgetting in long-term memory?
Forgetting is due to a lack of access to a memory, rather than the memory being unavailable.
This implies that the memory still exists but cannot be recalled without the right cues.
What happens when the context and state of an individual are similar at recall to the original learning situation?
The chances of forgetting the memory will be decreased.
This suggests that matching internal and external cues can enhance memory recall.
What is the encoding specificity principle (ESP)?
The idea that failing to access the same cues present at coding leads to forgetting.
Proposed by Tulving, it emphasizes the importance of context in memory retrieval.
Fill in the blank: The reason people forget information according to retrieval failure theory is due to _______.
insufficient cues.
What was the aim of Godden and Baddeley’s (1875) research?
To investigate context-dependent forgetting
Context-dependent forgetting refers to the idea that recall is improved when the context during learning matches the context during retrieval.
What were the two conditions under which divers learned a list of words in Godden and Baddeley’s study?
Underwater or on land
The study involved divers learning words either in an underwater environment or on dry land.
In Godden and Baddeley’s study, what was the finding when learning and recall conditions matched?
Higher recall rates
Conditions 1 and 4 had matching learning and recall scenarios, leading to better recall.
What was the percentage decrease in recall when learning and recall conditions did not match in Godden and Baddeley’s study?
40% lower
Conditions 2 and 3 showed a significant drop in recall performance when contexts did not align.
What does context-dependent forgetting suggest about external cues?
They affect recall
When external cues available at learning are absent at recall, forgetting is more likely.
What did Abernathy (1940) find regarding recall in different environments?
Participants recalled less well in unfamiliar settings
This study supported the concept of context-dependent forgetting.
What is state-dependent forgetting?
Forgetting occurs when the internal environment differs at recall compared to learning
An example is forgetting information learned while sober when trying to recall it while drunk.
What was the aim of Carter and Cassaday’s (1998) research?
To investigate state-dependent forgetting
This study examined how internal states affect memory recall.
What substance was used in Carter and Cassaday’s study to test memory recall?
Antihistamine drugs
These drugs can induce a mild sedative effect, impacting participants’ internal states.
What was the finding when there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall in Carter and Cassaday’s study?
Performance on the memory test was significantly worse
This highlighted the impact of internal cues on recall.
True or False: Context-dependent forgetting only applies to external environmental cues.
False
Context-dependent forgetting also includes internal states, as explored in state-dependent forgetting.
limitation for usefulness for this theory?
many studies into retrieval failure are laboratory based and the memory task are not like every day tasks and therefore the tasks lack mundane. realism retrieval failure may not work like the studies suggest because every day activities such as remembering a shopping list might not be as easily forgotten .
limitation for testibility for this theory?
in experiments were a cues produce the successful recall of the word can be assumed that the cue must’ve been encoded at the time of learning. if the cue does not produce the recall it can be assumed it was not coded. However these are just assumptions. This may mean that the experiments have low internal validity.
limitation for opposing explanation?
Baddley argued that context effects are not usually very strong in real world. contexts must be very different before and effect. I’ve seen learning something in one room and then recalling it in another. It’s not like the same degree of forgetting this is a limitation because it means of forgetting due to retrieval failure does not actually explain forgetting in the real world.
strength for supporting?
a range of laboratory,
field and natural experiments support the idea of retrieval failure increases the likelihood that this is a valid explanation for forgetting
strength regarding face validity?
context dependent forgetting has face validity. individuals regularly experience situations were forgetting occurs because environment changes. this could have practical applications when people have forgotten something. it’s probably worth encouraging them to make the effort to remember where they were when they learned it
strength regarding real life applications?
retriever failure has real life applications it has been used by the police to create reconstructions of unsolved crimes jogging the memory of witnesses by re-creating. The context of the incident led to the capture of Danielle Jones murder in 2001. conviction occurred due to witness coming forward after they had watched a reconstruction of the incident on TV this provides evidence of forgetting is less likely when cues that are present at the time of encoding retrieval.
