Theories of forgetting Flashcards
What is interference theory
When one memory for one piece of information is confused with memory for another piece of information leading to an inability to recall one or the other or both.
What is proactive inference
You cannot learn new information because of old information. What we already know interferes with what we are learning.
What is retroactive inference
When you forget previously learnt information because of new information. New learning interferes with earlier learning
When is forgetting due to interference likely
- Similar information
- time between learning is short
Aim and results of underwood and postman 1960
To investigate how retroactive inference affects learning
Control group’s recall was better than the experimental group
Strengths to the interference theory
+empirical support from lab studies- controlled experiments increases internal validity
+Support from real life studies- Baddley and Hitch asked Rugby players to recall teams they played. Accuracy depended on no. matches played.
Weaknesses to interference theory
- Artificial materials in lab support so cannot generalise to real life. Short time between learning in lab studies- maximises interference effect. In lab studies is likely greater than real life.
- Interference effects can be overcome with retrieval cues- Tulving and Potska gave PPTS lists to learn. Recall fell as there was more to remember but rose to 70% when cued.
What are retrieval cues
Pieces of information that act as triggers for memories
Retrieval cues can be…
- Meaningfully linked- (e.g abbreviations)
- Indirectly linked i.e context.
What is retrieval failure due to absence of cues
An explaination for forgetting in LTM. Suggests when we are unable to recall information it is because we don’t have the necerssary cues to retrieve it.
What is encoding specificity principle (Tulving 1983)
States that recall will be most effective when conditions at recall match conditions at encoding.
Aim and results of Godden and Baddely 1975
To investigate the effect of context on recall
Recall was 40% higher when tested in the same context as learning
Aim and results of Carter and Cassidy 1998
To investigate whether internal states act as a retrieval cue
Performance was significantly worse when mismatch between internal stores
Strengths for retrieval failure due to absence of cues
+lots of empirical evidence- controlled so increases internal validity
+Real life applications- Forms the basis for cognitive interview and supports validity.
Weakness for retrieval failure due to absence of cues
- Effect of contextual retrieval cues may be exaggerated- difference in contexts in experiments is huge which may increase the effect of context
- May relate more to memory loss- G&B replication with facial recognition showed no change in contexts.
-Unscientific- we cannot tell the cues aren’t available at recall.
