Explanations for forgetting Flashcards
(16 cards)
Interference theory
-Interference theory suggests that we forget because our long term memories are disrupted by other information while it is coded
Proactive and retroactive interference
-Proactive interference is when old information disrupts the learning of new information
-Retroactive interference is when the learning of new information disrupts old information
Factors affecting the likelihood of interference
Similarity: Interference is more likely to occur if the two pieces of information are similar to each other
-Time sensitivity: Interference is more likely to occur if there is a small time gap between when you first learn the two pieces of information
Schmidt (Maps of area around childhood homes) research evaluation for retroactive interference
-Schmidt investigated retroactive interference by sending participants maps of the areas around their childhood homes (asking them to fill it out)
-It was found that the more time a participant had moved house, the less street names from their childhood area could be recalled
-This negative correlation provides support for retroactive interference, as the learning of new street names when moving areas, disrupted the memory of the old street names
Greenberg and Underwood (2010) word lists of ten, reduced recall the more word lists learnt
-Greenberg and Underwood (2010) Asked participants to learn a 10-word paired list and then gave them 48 hours before recall; this was repeated four times
-It was found that the accuracy when recalling word pairs decreased the more word lists had been learned previously
-This provides evidence in support of proactive interference, as the memory of the previously learned words affected the coding of the later word lists, causing confusion when recalling these later word lists
Cue dependent forgetting
-Cue dependent forgetting is when the information for retrieval is already in the LTM, but cannot be accessed due to an absence of specific cues
Encoding specificity principle
-The encoding specificity principle states that memory retrieval is the most effective when the cues present at retrieval match the cues present during encoding
Context dependent cues
-Context dependent cues are cues from the external environment (e.g sight, smells, sound)
-So if information is recalled in a different environment to where it was encoded, this would inhibit memory/recall as there is an absence of environmental cues
Godden and Baddeley (diver study and support for context dependent forgetting)
-Godden and Baddeley (1975) studied divers and asked them to learn new information either underwater and on land and then recall this information either underwater or on land
-They found that recall was best in the same contexxt (e.g learned information underwater and recalled underwater) and that recall was worse in different contexts (e.g learned information on land and then recalled underwater)
-This suggests that having the same environment for both learning and recall aids recall by providing context (environmental) cues
State dependent cues
-State dependent cues are cues from someones internal environment e.g mood, arousal (such as high anxiety), or effect of drugs/alcohol
-Therefore if an individual is in a different emotional state during recall to when they encoded the information, this will inhibit their recall as they lack state dependent cues
Overton (1972) drunk vs sober study (state dependent forgetting)
-Overton (1972) asked participants to learn new information when either drunk or sober and then tested them on this information when they were either drunk or sober
-They found that recall was worse in different states (e.g learned information when drunk and then recalled when sober) and that recall was best when in the same internal state (e.g learned information when drunk and recalled when sober)
-This suggests that being in the same environment for both learning and recall, aids recall, as they are provided with state-dependent cues
Category dependent cues
-Category-dependent cues are how we organise information and this can act as a cue
-For example, if we have pieces of information that link to the information we are trying to retrieve, this acts as a category-dependent cue
-A lack of category cues may inhibit memory
Tulving and Pealstone (1966) category dependent cues (free recall or split into categories)
-Tulving and Pealstone (1966) asked participants to learn 48 words and then asked them to either free recall the word list (answering in any order) or asked them to split it into four word categories (acts as a category condition)
-It was found that those in the category condition had significantly higher recall than those using free recall
-This suggests that the categories acted as cues, aiding recall
Additional evaluations (real world application of psychological research on forgetting) positive
-Psychological research on forgetting has real world applications; for example students can use the research to develop more effective study techniques
-Cue theories can be used to improve police interviews techniques, using cues to improve recall
Negative evaluation of research into forgetting (interference and cues not a true explanation of forgetting)
-Since interference and cue theory only show temporary loss of information, it may not be a true explanation for forgetting (permanent loss of information from long term memory store)
Negative evaluation of research into forgetting (Lab experiment + may not be generalisable + Interference theory)
-Much of the research done on interference was conducted in a lab setting with highly controlled conditions and highly artificial tasks (e.g Greenberg and Underwood)
-The external validity of these tasks may be low and may not happen to this extent in a real-world situation
-This means that the findings from interference cannot be generalised to the wider population
