Explanations for forgetting Flashcards
What is interference and what is the definition for the two types?
Interference - suggests 2 memories can get mixed up and as a result become more difficult to recall
Proactive Interference - means to move forward in time, so an old memory interferes with the encoding of a newer memory
Retroactive Interference - means to move backward in time, so a newer memory interferes with an older memory and makes it hard to recall.
What are the two examples of Proactive interference and why they are this type of interference?
- E.g you are used to knives being in a certain kitchen drawer, but your mum then moves them to a different drawer. Every time you go to get a knife you go to the old drawer.
- E.g if you get a new phone and number, but struggle to learn the new number because of your old number.
These are pro-active interference examples as your old memory has disrupted your ability to make a new one.
What is the main example for Retroactive Interference and what is the other example that could be used too?
- E.g when you get a new license plate that is like your old one, after a while you cannot remember the old plate number due to latest info interfering with the older info.
-The phone number example can be used here too.
What was the study that McGeoch and McDonald (1931) conducted that suggests interference occurs more when material is similar? ( 2 steps, 6 list Bs, results)
- Ppts were given a list of 10 adjective (list A) + once learnt they had a 10min break during which they learnt list B.
- They then were asked to recall the six different list Bs in relation to the List As.
- The Similarity of list B to list A changed the outcome: synonyms (12%), antonyms, unrelated words, consonant syllables (26%), three digit numbers (37%) and finally no list (best recall).
What was the field study Baddeley and Hitch (1977) conducted regarding rugby players and what was the result? What does this suggest?
They asked rugby players to recall the names of the teams they had played against over a season.
The players who had played more games tended to remember fewer names.
Suggests the additional info from extra teams increased the interference and reduced overall recall.
What is the limitation and strength to Baddeley + Hitch’s (1977) study?
Limitation - not clear if interference was retroactive or proactive
Strength - real world study increases ecological validity due to impact of interference being found outside the lab
What are the two big limitations to the research involved in Interference?
- It is rare to experience interference in real world, examples above i.e phone numbers, licence plates, team names and passwords are all under specific circumstances
- Research is taken from contrived + highly controlled lab studies. This means that interference may lack ecological validity, aside from Baddeley + Mitch’s (1977) study.
What did Anderson (2000) conclude about interference ?
He concluded that is certainly plays a role in forgetting, but is clear as to much is attributed.
What was the result from Ceraso’s (1967) study in regards to accessibility and availability?
He found that if memory was tested again 24 hours later, recognition (accessibility) was quite good whilst recall (availability) remained the same.
Suggests memory is temporarily unavailable rather than being permanently lost.
What were the steps to Tulving and Psotlza’s (1971) proactive interference study where they measured ppts recall for a list? (Original result, end result etc, cues — 3 steps)
- The ppts originally recalled about 70% of the list, but their performance became progressively worse for each additional list.
- At end of study, ppts were given a test on what they could remember and were given the name of each category for each list (a cue)
- With the cue info present, the ppts performance returned back to 70% for each list.
What is the concept of Retrieval Failure (Cue-dependence) ?
This type of forgetting is based off the idea that memories rely on retrieval cues to recall them.
What are retrieval cues?
Provide 5 common examples
These are situational connections your brain makes during the encoding of a memory
E.g, the room you were in, scents, particular words/phrases, being drunk, being happy/sad.
What is retrieval failure?
This occurs when a person is trying to remember something without the cues present so it makes it difficult/ impossible to remember.
What is the encoding specifically principle, proposed by Tulving + Thomson (1973) ? (2 things)
-Memory is most effective if info that was present at encoding (learning) is also available at the time of retrieval
-The cue doesn’t have to be exactly right, but the closer it was to original the more useful it will be.
What two things did Tulving (1973) state cues must be for the encoding specifically principle to be effective?
— must be present at the time of encoding
— must be present at retrieval
What did Tulving and Pearlstone (1966) find that is evidence for cues being encoded at time of learning having an effective connection to material being learnt (supports encoding-specifically principle) ?
They found that when ppts recalled words that were paired with a category the words had been learned with, more words were accurately recalled.
This shows the importance of cues in recalling information.
What are the two types of retrieval failure?
Context-dependent forgetting
State-dependent forgetting
What is context-dependent forgetting and what are the 5 external factors?
This occurs when the environment you’re in when trying to recall info is different to the environment of encoding.
External factors - where you are, what you smell, who you’re with, what you hear, what you see, etc.
What was the procedure to Godden and Baddeley’s (1975) deep-sea divers study that was to see if training on land was as helpful as training underwater? (2 steps and 4 conditions)
- Divers learnt a list of words either underwater or on land and they were asked to recall them either underwater or on land
- The four conditions were:
Learn on land — Recall on land,
Learn on land — Recall underwater,
Learn underwater — Recall on land
Learn underwater — Recall underwater
What was the original result from Godden and Baddeley’s (1980) deep see diver study?
After replicating the study with recognition tests instead of recall ones, what was the new result and what does this suggest?
The original results showed that when ppts were asked to recall in a different context (no cues) they recalled on average 40% less.
After replication, they found ppts could recall all four lists equally, suggesting that retrieval failure explanation is limited as it doesn’t amount for the result
What did Aggleton and Waskett (1999) find in regards to smells and the Yorvik Museum?
They found that by reconstructing smells for their ppts, they were able to improve ppt recall from visits made to the Jorvik Museum from many years before.
What is Abernethy’s student-based study that supports the importance of environmental cues on recall (context-dependent forgetting, include 4 conditions) What were the two results?
- She tested ppts each week in one of the following four conditions
1. By their usual instructor in their usual room
2. By a different instructor in their usual room
3. By their usual instructor in a different room
4. By a different instructor in a different room
-She found that those in condition one performed best
-The stronger students were least affected and the weaker students were more affected
What did Smith (1979) show, which is called mental reinstatement? (Context- dependent forgetting)
Showed that just by thinking of the room somebody did the original learning in this was as effective as actually bing in the same room at the time of retrieval.
What is State-Dependent Forgetting and what are the 4 internal factors ?
This occurs when the mental state you are in at the time of recall is different than the mental state at the time of encoding.
Internal factors - mood (happy/sad), any drugs or alcohol affecting you, anything else that affects your mental state.
