Explanations of forgetting

Question 1

What is forgetting?

Answer 1

Failure to retrieve memories

Question 2

What is retrieval failure?

Answer 2

Explanation for forgetting when material is stored in the LTM but can’t be consciously recalled as a result of a lack of retrieval cues to jog the memory

Question 3

What is the interference theory (IT)?

Answer 3

Forgetting is due to information in LTM becoming confused with other info during coding, leading to inaccurate recall.

Question 4

What are the 2 forms of interference?

Answer 4

Proactive and Retroactive

Question 5

What is proactive interference?

Answer 5

Works forward in time, occurs when info stored previously interferes with an attempt to recall something new eg memory of old number disrupts attempt to recall new number

Question 6

What is retroactive interference?

Answer 6

Works backwards in time, occurs when coding new info disrupts info stored previously, eg memory of new car registration number prevents recall for previous one

Question 7

What is the procedure for Schmidt et al’s remembering street names study?

Answer 7

211 pps, ages 11-79 given map of neighbourhood with all 48 street names replaced with numbers & asked to recall as many as possible.
Other personal details were collected.
The amount of retroactive interference experienced was assessed by the no. of times they moved to other neighbourhoods.

Question 8

What are the findings for Schmidt et al’s remembering street names study?

Answer 8

There was a positive association between the no. of times pps had moved house and no. of street names forgotten.

Question 9

What are the conclusions for Schmidt et al’s remembering street names study?

Answer 9

Learning new patterns of street names when moving house makes recalling an older pattern harder.
Retroactive interference can explain forgetting in some real-life situations.

Question 10

Give evaluations for Schmidt et al’s remembering street names study

Answer 10

Extraneous variables may have affected the results, eg those who played a lot in the neighbourhood may have learned the street names better than those who didn’t play.

Question 11

Evaluate the IT

Answer 11

It only explains forgetting when 2 sets of info are similar eg learning French and welsh at school, this doesn’t happen often - so IT can’t explain forgetting in the majority of real life settings.
Research tends to use lab experiments - lacks mundane realism.

Question 12

When does Cue-dependent forgetting occur (CDF)?

Answer 12

Occurs when info is still in LTM but can’t be accessed. Recall is dependent on retrieval cues, its dependent on accessing info by remembering the retrieval cue under which info is stored.

Question 13

What is the encoding-specificity principle and who created it?

Answer 13

Where recall is hindered if the context of recall is different to that at coding. Tulving.

Question 14

What are the 2 main forms of CDF?

Answer 14

Context-dependent failure & state-dependent failure

Question 15

What is context-dependent failure?

Answer 15

Occurs with external retrieval cues, where forgetting occurs when the external environment is different at recall from how it was at coding

Question 16

What is Abernathy’s research on context-dependent failure?

Answer 16

Found that pp’s after learning some material recalled it less well when tested by an unfamiliar teacher in unfamiliar room than those tested by familiar teacher in familiar room

Question 17

What is state-dependent failure?

Answer 17

Occurs with internal retrieval cues, forgetting occurring when an individual’s internal environment is dissimilar at recall to when info is coded.

Question 18

What is an example of state-dependent failure?

Answer 18

Trying to recall info learned when sober while you’re drunk

Question 19

What is Darley et al’s research on state-dependent failure?

Answer 19

Found that pp’s who hid money while high on marijuana were less able to recall where the money was when they were not high than when they were high again.

Question 20

How is retrieval failure assessed?

Answer 20

By giving pp’s lists of items to learn and then measuring recall after category headings of items on the lists are given or not

Question 21

What is Tulving & Pearlstone’s research on retrieval failure?

Answer 21

Gave list of 48 words to learn organised into 12 categories of 4 words each. At top of each category was a one-word heading (fruit) followed by the names of 4 types of fruit. pp’s told wouldnt have to recall headings only words in categories. pps who werent given headings as cues to facilitate recall remembered less words than ones who were.

Question 22

Evaluate CDF as an explanation for forgetting

Answer 22

Studies supporting are lab based and not everyday tasks.

Question 23

What is repression?

Answer 23

Where emotionally threatening events are banished to the unconscious mind to prevent feelings of anxiety they might cause, they are difficult to retrieve.

Question 24

What is Williams’ research on repression?

Answer 24

Repression in women suffered childhood sexual assaults. 38% had no recall of the earlier abuse and those who did recall, 16% said at one point they couldn’t recall it but had now recovered the memories

Question 25

Give evaluations of Repression

Answer 25

It is unknown if in Williams study if the original diagnoses of abuse were correct, may be some women didn’t have memory of it because it didn’t occur rather than having a repressed memory.