explainations of forgetting

Question 1

what are the 2 explanations for forgetting

Answer 1

retrieval failure

interference theory

Question 2

what are the 2 types of interference theory

Answer 2

proactive interference

retroactive interference

Question 3

define interference theory

Answer 3

when 1 memory blocks another causing one of both memories to be distorted or forgotten

Question 4

define proactive interference

Answer 4

previously learnt information distorts the new information you are trying to store

e.g: calling a new student by an old students name

Question 5

define retroactive intereference

Answer 5

new memories distort old ones

e.g: cannot recall the name of old students because you now can only recall the new names

Question 6

who did the study the proves interference theory

Answer 6

McGeoch and McDonald
Effects of similarity

Question 7

what was the 6 groups of lists in McGeoch and McDonald’s study

Answer 7

group 1: synonyms
group 2: antonyms
group 3: words unrelated to the original
group 4: consonant syllables
group 5: three digit numbers
group 6: no new list (control condition)

Question 8

what were the findings of McGeoch and McDonald’s study

Answer 8

the most similar material produced the worst recall and the best recall was when they were given no list and were allowed to relax (the control group)

Question 9

explain why the findings of McGeoch and McDonald’s study

Answer 9

the more similar the material is the more likely you are to forget due to interference theory as retroactive interference is occurring (new list is causing you to forget the old original list that you need to recall)

Question 10

what was the procedure in McGeoch and McDonald’s study

Answer 10

participants had to learn a list of 10 words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy an d then were given a list of new words that fell into 6 different categories and then were asked to recall the original list of words

Question 11

define retrieval

Answer 11

recall of previously stored information in memory
(from LTM to STM)

Question 12

define cue

Answer 12

a trigger that allows access to a memory

Question 13

why may forgetting occur

Answer 13

forgetting may occur due to insufficient cues at the time of recall

Question 14

what is the encoding specificity principle (ESP)

Answer 14

for a cue to be helpful it has to be present at encoding and at retrieval

if cues are different or absent this is when forgetting occurs

Question 15

what are the 2 types of forgeting

Answer 15

state dependent forgetting
context dependent forgetting

Question 16

define state dependent forgetting

Answer 16

recall depends on internal cues

(e.g: feeling upset, being drunk)

Question 17

define context dependent forgetting

Answer 17

recall depends on external cues
( e.g: weather, place, sounds, smells)

Question 18

who did research into context dependent forgetting

Answer 18

godden and baddeley
1975

Question 19

what type of participants did godden and baddeley use in their study on context dependent forgetting and why

Answer 19

deep sea divers as they wanted to see how learning on land affected work underwater

Question 20

what was the procedure of godden and baddeley’s study

Answer 20

diver learnt a list of words on land or underwater and then had to recall that list on land or underwater

Question 21

what were the 4 conditions in godden and baddeley’s study

Answer 21

encoding on land retrieval on land

encoding on land retrieval underwater

encoding underwater retrieval on land

encoding underwater retrieval underwater

Question 22

in which conditions did participants perform best in godden and baddeleys study

Answer 22

land and land was the best followed by underwater and underwater

Question 23

what were the findings in % if the conditions idn’t match

Answer 23

accurate recall was 40% lower

Question 24

explain the findings of godden and baddeley’s study

Answer 24

when cues during learning are different to cues during recall this led to retrieval failure

Question 25

who did research into state dependent forgetting

Answer 25

carter and cassady
1998

Question 26

in carter and cassady’s study what did they give to participants to make them slightly drowsy

Answer 26

antihistamine drugs

Question 27

what was the procedure of carter and cassasdy’s study

Answer 27

participants had to learn list of words and prose passages then recall them in one of 2 states (drugs, no drugs)

Question 28

what were the 4 states for encoding and retrieval

Answer 28

encoding drugs retrieval drugs

encoding drugs retrieval no drugs

encoding no drugs retrieval drugs

encoding no drugs retrieval no drugs

Question 29

what happened when the state during learning was different to the state during recall

Answer 29

then recall was significantly worse

Question 30

why when cues aren’t available is there more forgetting

Answer 30

this is due to retrieval failure