Explanations Of Forgetting Flashcards
what are the two explanations of forgetting
- interference
- retrieval failure
interference occurs when……
two pieces of information conflict with eachother
interference
what is proactive interference
when older memories interfere with a newer memory
interference
what is retroactive interfernce
when a newer memory interferes with an older memory
interference
explain the study where retroactive interference is studied
baddeley and hitch
- Rugby players were asked to recall the names of teams they played during the season.
- Players missed games, so the time since the last game varied.
- Findings: players who had played the most games forgot more games than those who had played fewer games.
- Conclusion: Forgetting was due to the number of intervening games (interference), not the passage of time.
retrieval failure
rerieval failure is defined as
where information has succesfully been stored in our LTM but there are not sufficient cues to access it
retrieval failure
cues can be either…..
- external (context)
- internal (state)
retrieval failure
give an example of an internal cue
mood
retrieval failure
give an example of an external cue
smell
retrieval failure
who developed the encoding specificity principle
tulving
retrieval failure
explain what the ESP is
tulving
- if a cue is to help us recall information it has to be present at encoding and at retrieval
retrieval failure
Describe what is meant by context-dependent forgetting
(3 marks)
- the external environment at recall is different from the envioronment during learning
- this leads to the absence of environmental cues leading to reteieval failure
- Eg, godden and baddeley found divers recalled info better when they learned and recalled in thje same context
retrieval failure
explain the study that provides evidence of context dependant forgetting
godden and baddeley
- particpant were deep sea divers who memorised a list of 40 words
- they learnt it on either:
1. the beach
2. under water - after hearing the words the particpants were tested for recall in either:
1. same environmental context
2. different context - it was found that those who leanred and recalled in the same context remembered 40% more words
- this supports retrieval failure and ESP as it demonstrates context acted as a cue
retrieval failure
explain state dependant forgetting
- Internal state can act as a cue for memory recall.
- Forgetting may occur if the internal state during recall differs from the state during learning. own internal state can act as a cue
retrieval failure
explain the study that provides evidence for state dependant forgetting
carter and cassady
- gave participants antihistimine drug
- they then learnt on the drug or learnt on no drug
- they then had to recall on drug or recall on no drug
- performance when the states mismatched was worse
strength
evaluate interference
- P - supporting evidence
- Eg - baddeley and hitch conducted a study where they got rugby players who all played a differeing number of games to recall the names of the teams the last played that season. they found that the players who had played the most games had poorer recall compared to those who played fewer games
- Ex - this supports the idea that interference from newer memories can impair the recall of older memories, regardless of the time
- L - increases validity
- H - interference may not be the sole cause of forgetting as indivdual differences may influence memories
limitation
evaluate interference
- P - may not explain all instances of forgetting
- Eg - not all studies show a clear patttern of forgetting due to interference, othger factors may contribute
- Ex - there are cases where forgetting occurs naturally whihc suggests interfernce doesnt explain every situation
- L - limits the theorys applicability
- H - remains a valuable explanation
strength
evaluate retrieval failure
- P - supporting evidence
- Eg - godden and baddeley fouynd that divers who learned and recalled words in the same environment recalled 40% more words than those who learned and recalled in different environments
- Ex - this supports the idea that context dependant cues are crucial for memory retrieval
- L - increases validity
- H - the findings may not be applicable to all types of memory such as emotional mekires where context may not play a significant role
limitation
evaluate retrieval failure
- P - it may not account for all types of forgetting
- Eg - while there is research support for context and state dependant forgetting, there are cases where memory loss occurd withiout any clear cue related factors
- Ex - suggests retrieval failure isnt always the cause of forgetting so thjere may be other factors
- L - cant fully explain all instances of forgetting, decreasing validity
- H - remains a strong explanation for forgetting in situtations where cues directly influence recall
