Explanations for Forgetting

Question 1

What is interference?

Answer 1

• When one memory blocks or overwrites another, can be:
• Proactive - old memory disrupts the retrieval of a new one
• Retroactive - new memory disrupts the retrieval of a old one

Question 2

Describe McGeoch & McDonald’s study on retroactive interference

Answer 2

• Participants to learn a list of ten words, learn a new list, then recall the old list
• New list could be synonyms of first list, antonyms, unrelated words, or numbers
• The more similar the lists, the stronger the interference

Question 3

What support is there for interference as an explanation for forgetting?

Answer 3

• Baddeley & Hitch (1977), rugby players to recall names of other teams, the more games one played the fewer names remembered (real world, increases validity)
• Drug that impairs the creation of new memories improves the recall of old ones (fewer new memories to interfere)

Question 4

What are the limitations of interference as an explanation for forgetting?

Answer 4

• Conditions needed for interference rare in real life, so there are better explanations for forgetting
• Interference is temporary and can be overcome with cues/hints

Question 5

What is the encoding specificity principle? (Endel Tulvig, 1983)

Answer 5

• A cue must be present at both encoding and retrieval to be useful
• Can be meaningful to the memory, or non-meaningful and instead being:
• Context dependent (an external cue), or
• State dependent (an internal cue)

Question 6

What research is there for context-dependent memory cues?

Answer 6

• Goddem & Baddeley (1975)
• Scuba divers learned a list of words either on land or underwater, then recalled them on land or underwater
• Recall lower in conditions that did not match

Question 7

What research is there for state-dependent memory cues?

Answer 7

• Carter & Cassaday (1998)
• Participants learned a list of words either on or not on antihistamines, then recalled them on or not on antihistamines
• Recall lower in conditions that did not match

Question 8

What supports retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting?

Answer 8

• Real world applications (treat dementia patients, aid study)
• Research shows it occurs in real life as well as studies

Question 9

What are the limitations of retrieval failure as an explanation for forgetting?

Answer 9

• Context is not very significant, so retrieval failure may not explain most everyday forgetting
• Underwater experiment replicated with recognition rather than recall, no difference between conditions found (type of memory matters)