Explanations for forgetting: Retrieval failure

Question 1

What is the definition of retrieval?

Answer 1

Recall of information previously stored in memory.

Question 2

Why may forgetting occur?

Answer 2

Due to insufficient cues at the time of recall. The memory has been stored, but you don’t have the right cues to access it again.

Question 3

What is the Encoding Specificity Principle devised by Tulving?

Answer 3

For a cue to be helpful, it has to be present at encoding and retrieval. If cues are different or absent, there will be some forgetting.

Question 4

What is context-dependent forgetting?

Answer 4

Recall depends on external cues. e.g = weather, place, sounds

Question 5

What is state-dependent forgetting?

Answer 5

Recall depends on internal cues. e.g = feeling upset, being drunk

Question 6

Who completed the research into context-dependent forgetting?

Answer 6

Godden and Baddeley

Question 7

What was the procedure of Godden and Baddeley’s study?

Answer 7

• Used divers to see how learning on land affected work under water.
• Had to learn a list of words on land, underwater then had to recall on land or underwater.
  4 conditions:
• Land and land
• Land and underwater
• Underwater and land
• Underwater and underwater

Question 8

What were the findings of Godden and Baddeley’s study?

Answer 8

• Accurate recall was 40% lower when learning and recall conditions did not match.
• When cues available during learning different to those available during recall, this led to retrieval failure.

Question 9

What was the procedure of the state-dependent forgetting? - Carter and Cassaday

Answer 9

• Participants got antihistamines to produce a drowsy state.
• Learnt a list of words then had to recall in one of 2 states.
  4 conditions:
• Drugs and drugs
• Drugs and no drugs
• No drugs and drugs
• No drugs and no drugs

Question 10

What were the findings of Carter and Cassaday’s study?

Answer 10

When the state during learning was different to recall, recall was significantly worse.

Question 11

What is one strength of retrieval cues? - Real world application

Answer 11

• Although the effect of cues on forgetting is not very strong, they are still worth paying attention to.
• When we have trouble remembering something, we should recall the environment in which you learnt it.
• Research can remind us of strategies we use in the real world to improve recall.

Question 12

What is a strength of the retrieval failure explanation? - Range of evidence

Answer 12

• Godden/Baddeley and Carter/Cassaday are just 2 examples.
• Evidence shows retrieval failure occurs in real world situations as well as highly-controlled lab studies.
• Eysenck and Keane argue retrival failure may be the most significant cause of forgetting in LTM.