Forgetting Flashcards
(8 cards)
What is interference ?
An explanation for fogetting in LTM
Interference occurs when info that is similar gets in the way of the info someone is trying to recall
What is retroactive interference ?
Recent information gets in the way of recalling past information
What is proactive interference ?
Older info gets in the way of recalling newer info
What are the 3 evaluation points for interference ?
Evidence from lab studies
- both groups had to remember list of paired words (exp group given 2nd list of words to learn)
. All participants asked to recall the words on the first list
. Recall of control group more accurate
Methodology is flawed
- most of the research used artificial tasks which means methodologies don’t relate to everyday use of memory = ecological validity
. Real life studies - rugby players
What is retrieval failure ?
Reason we forget is due to insufficient cues
^ a “trigger” which allows access to a memory
If cues aren’t present when we come to recall we find it difficult to retrieve the memory
What are the 2 types of cues ?
Context dependent = environmental context/where you are
State dependent = Internal
E.g: mood or degree of tiredness/drunkness
What is the “encoding specificity principle”
Tulving: we’re more likely to remember info if we recall it in the same place we first learnt it
What are the 3 evaluation points for retrieval failure ?
. Context dependent forgetting
Godden and Baddeley: divers learnt a list of words either underwater or on land
2 conditions where environmental context didn’t match, recall was 40% lower
. Real world application
Found students who learnt and tested in the same room had highest level of recall
. State dependent forgetting
Carter and Cassidy gave hay fever drugs to participants they then learnt a list of words with or without drugs
2 conditions where environmental context and recall didn’t match recall was significantly lower
