Forgetting (Retrieval failiure) Flashcards
What is retrieval failure?
A form of forgetting that occurs when we don’t have the necessary cues to access memory.
The memory is available but not accessible unless a suitable cue is provided.
What is a cue?
A ‘trigger’ of information that allows us to access a memory.
Cues may be meaningful or may be indirectly linked by
being encoded at the time of learning.
Describe the retrieval failure theory
The reason people is due to insufficient cues
When info is initially placed in memory, associated cues are stored at the same time . If cues are not available at the time of recall, it seems as if the information has been forgotten but in fact, this is due to retrieval failure
What is Context-dependent Forgetting
when relevant cues in the environment that were there when you learnt the information, are then missing from the place you then
recall the info in
What is State-dependent Forgetting
When there are psychological/physiological differences between how you
felt when you were learning the information and then how you feel when you are
later recalling the info
What was the aim of Godden & Baddeleys study
To investigate if recall was affected when ppts had to recall information in a different context to where they first learnt it
What was the method of Godden & Baddeleys study
Divers learned a list of words either on land or underwater. They were then asked
to recall the words either on land or under water.
There are four conditions:
Learn on land – recall on land (matching)
Learn on land – recall underwater (non-matching)
Learn underwater – recall on land (non-matching)
Learn underwater – recall underwater (matching)
What were the results of Godden & Baddeleys study
In two of these conditions the environmental context of learning and recall matched, whereas the other two did
not.
Accurate recall of the words was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions
What was the conclusion of Godden & Baddeleys study
When the external cues available at learning are different from the ones at recall, this leads to retrieval failure
What is a limitation of Godden & Baddeleys study
low population validity
Evaluate low population validity as a limitation of Godden & Baddeleys study
P: low population validity.
E: For example, the sample consists of 18 divers and therefore cannot provide evidence for the retrieval failure
in non-divers. In addition, 18 participants is a small sample size and therefore there
is only a small amount of data to draw conclusions from.
E: Limitation because the findings about context-dependent forgetting may be difficult to generalise to
other people who are not divers. In addition, because the sample size is small it reduces confidence that the
conclusion is valid because the data is limited.
What was the aim of Darley et als study
to investigate state-dependent forgetting.
What was the method of Darley et als study
ppts smoked cannabis and then were asked to hide some money whilst high.
They were then asked to find the money again; some of whom were still high and others whom were no longer high.
What were the results of Darley et als study
People who were still under the influence when asked to find the money were more successful compared to people who were sober
What was the conclusion of Darley et als study
indicates that the psychological/physical state you are in at the time of coding the information needs to be similar to the state you are in when recalling the information to be successful
What is a strength of retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting
real life applications
Evaluate real life applications as a strength of retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting
P: Has practical applications.
E: Baddeley suggests that when we have trouble remembering something it is worth making the effort to try and recall the environment in which it was learnt first
E: Strength of the retrieval failure as it makes a useful contribution to the real world
