Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Explanations for forgetting: retrieval failure
- retrieval failure theory
- basics
- one reason why we forget is down to insufficient cues
- when we store info we also store cues
- if cues aren't there then we might not be able to
remember due to retrieval failure
- encoding specificity principle (ESP)
- Tulving
- if a cue is going to help us it needs to be there
at the encoding and the recall
- if cues are different at either time there will be some forgetting
- some are linked in a meaningful way - e.g. mnemonic techniques
- others are not meaningful
- context dependant
- state dependant
- context dependant forgetting
- Godden and Baddeley - scuba divers
- procedure - learn one list of words and recall
- either
- learn on land - recall on land
- learn on land - recall underwater
- learn underwater - recall on land
- learn underwater - recall underwater
- findings
- accurate recall was 40% lower in on matching conditions
- the cues were different which led to retrieval failure
- state dependant forgetting
- Carter and Cassaday - drugs
- procedure - learn one list of words and recall
- either
- learn on drugs - recall off
- learn on drugs - recall on
- learn off drugs - recall on
- learn off drugs - recall off
- findings
- when there was a mismatch between internal state at
learning and recall - test results were worse
- evaluation
- supporting evidence
- lots of research to support retrieval failure
- one researcher - Eysenck - said it is
the main reason for forgetting in
LTM
- questioning context effects
- the two places that you learn have to be very
different for there to begin to be any effect
- you can't get much difference between land and sea
- doing it in different rooms aren't different enough
- recall vs recognition
- context effect may be related to the kind of memory being tested
- did the diving study again but used a recognition test instead of recall
- had to say whether they recognised a word being read from a list
- when recognition was tested there was o context dependant effect
- the results were the same in all four conditions
- limitation - cues only have effect when tested in a certain way
- evaluation +
- problems with the encoding specificity principle
- can ESP be tested - no
- we assume that if a cue was shown then
- if you do remember then the cue was encoded
- if you don't it wasn't
- but we have no way of knowing
- real life application
- for example when you go upstairs to get something and you forget what you were looking for
- but if you go back downstairs you remember what it was you were looking for
- if you have forgotten remember were you where - visualise it
- used in cognitive interviews and eyewitness testimonies - go back to the scene