Explanations for forgetting - retrieval failiure

Explanations for forgetting - retrieval failiure

1. When cues are not present and the memory fails to be accesses

   • Cue = trigger of information that could be linked to the information when encoded or could be meaningful.

2. The Encoding Specifity principle

   • Tulvig
   • If cue was present at learning and recall then memory increases
     • Cues can be linked to the information being encoded in a meaningful way,e.g. mnemonics
   • External cues
     • Present at time of learning - such as location or mental state (e.g. drunk)
       • Context dependant forgetting
         • Baddeley studied a group of divers
         • 4 groups in different settings
           • Learn on land, recall on land
           • Learn on land, recall in water
           • Learn in water, recall in water
           • Learn in water, recall on land
         • Findings
           • Recall in non matching condition was 40% lower than in matching conditions
           • In non matching conditions the cues that were present at learning were not present at recall
   • Internal cues
     • State dependant forgetting
       • Carter and Cassaday
       • Anti histamine drugs given to pets. Mild sedative effect.
         • New internal psychological state
       • 4 groups in different states
         • Learn on drug, recall on drug
         • Learn on drug, recall off drug
         • Learn off drug, recall on drug
         • Learn off drug, recall off drug
       • Findings
         • Mismatch of internal state at learning and recall the performance was worse
           • Lack of cues leads to forgetting

3. Evaluation

   • Research support
     • Lots of supporting evidence, giving the theory high vail
     • Real life application
   • Strength of context effects questioned
     • States need to be very different, e.g under water
       • Rarely happens in real life
   • Context effect may be limited to the type of memory being tested
     • Baddeley did a repeat but the ppts had to just recognise the words rather than recall them
       • Found no evidence of the context effect
   • Hard to test accurately
     • Cannot clearly define cause and effect, just correlation
     • Also cannot ensure that the cue is even encoded