Retrieval failure

Question 1

What does the retrieval failure theory of forgetting suggest forgetting is due to?

Answer 1

Inability to access memory

Question 2

How does retrieval occur then?

Answer 2

Retrieval therefore depends upon using cues

Question 3

What are the two types of cues?

Answer 3

• External (context-dependent)
• Internal (state-dependent)

Question 4

What are context dependent cues mainly about?

Answer 4

The environment

Question 5

What are state-dependent cues mainly about?

Answer 5

Emotions/mood

Question 6

Who proposed the encoding-specificity principle?

Answer 6

Tulving and Thompson

Question 7

What is the encoding-specificity principle?

Answer 7

• memory is at its best when information is present at the time of coding is also available at the time of retrieval
• a cue does not have to be right but the closer it is to the original item the more useful it is
• Cues that have been implicitly or explicitly linked at time of encoding can have a meaningful link

Question 8

APFC of context-dependent forgetting by Abernethy

Answer 8

• Aimed to investigate context-dependent forgetting
• Students were tested before their course began and then weekly
• Testing took place over four conditions
  tested in their teaching room by same instructor,
  tested in their teaching room by different instructor,
  tested in a different room by same instructor,
  tested in a different room by different instructor
• She found that those tested by the same instructor in the same room performed best
• Abernethy concluded that familiar things (room/instructor) acted as memory cues and aided the students ability to recall information

Question 9

Describe Goodwin et al study that looked at state-dependent forgetting

Answer 9

• aimed to investigate state-dependent forgetting
• asking male volunteers to remember lists of words either drunk or sober
• ppts were asked to recall this list after 24h, when some were sober, whilst other still drunk
• found that information learnt when sober is more available when in the same state
• ppts who were drunk at learning were able to recall whilst drunk
• concluded that the mental state you are in at time of learning can also act as a cue
• supporting the idea of state-dependent forgetting

Question 10

What are some problems with Goodwin et al study?

Answer 10

• gender bias
• unethical: getting drunk

Question 11

Describe Goodwin and Baddeley’s study of deep sea divers

Answer 11

• field experiment
• deep sea divers either learnt word lists on land or underwater
• recall of the words was then tested in the same or different context
• those who learned and recalled in different context (e.g. learned on land, recalled underwater) did not perform as well as ppts who had learned and recalled in same context
• Ability to recall information depends upon the context in which learning takes place

Question 12

A03 - Research support for retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting in LTM

Answer 12

-evidence support for external cues is derived from a study by Abernethy who found the similar surroundings to time of learning acted as memory cue at time of recall
- In addition, Goodwin highlighted the importance of internal (state) cues. Ppts recalled information best when they were in the same state at time of learning
- Therefore these studies demonstrate the importance of context and state cues in the ability to later retrieve information

Question 13

A03 - Challenge - not explain all forms of forgetting

Answer 13

• The information learnt is related to a lot more than cues
• For example, Milgram’s research into obedience, you learning about the complex associations that are less likely to be easily triggered by single cues
• This is called the outshining hypotheses
• According to Smith and Vela context effects are largely eliminated when learning meaningful material
• This suggests that retrieval cues can suggest instances of everyday forgetting by not explain everything

Question 14

A03 - Testing the validity of retrieval failure

Answer 14

• Testing the validity of the theory has been questioned by some researchers who argue the theory to be circular
• A limitation is that encoding cues and later retrieval is a correlation rather than a cause
• Nairne calls this the ‘myth of encoding-retrieval match’
• Baddeley said that encoding-specificity principle is impossible to test because it is circular
• If a stimulus leads to memory retrieval then it must be encoded into memory
• If not lead to memory retrieval then according to encoding-specificity principle it can’t have been encoded into memory
• Therefore, this shows that cues do not cause retrieval they are just associated with retrieval