Explanations for forgetting

• Interference theory as an explanation for forgetting

  when two pieces of information become confused in memory. This results in one or both pieces of the information either being distorted or forgotten. Interference is more likely to occur when the two pieces of information are

  similar. Interference is less likely to occur, however, when there is a gap between the instances of learning similar pieces of information.
• Proactive interference

  When old information interferes with new information and thus affects

  the recall of recently learned information.

  E.g. having trouble recalling your new phone number because you keep recalling digits of your old phone number.
• Retroactive interference

  When new information interferes with old information and thus affects the

  recall of previously learned information.

  E.g. a teacher may have learned so many new names this year that they have difficulty remembering the names of their students from last year.
• what are the two types of interference for forgetting

  • Proactive interference
  • Retroactive interference

  
• Evaluation of interference theory as an explanation for forgetting

  • it has received supporting evidence of Underwood & Postma
  • it is more likely to be demonstrated in laboratory research than in real-life situations.
  • studies have demonstrated the effects of interference in more everyday situations (Baddeley and Hitch (1977))
  • it has resulted in practical applications
• Describe Retrieval failure due to absence of cues as an explanation for forgetting

  When we encode a new memory, we also store information that occurred around it such as the way we felt or the place we were in. This means that if we cannot recall the memory, it could be because we are not in a similar emotional or environmental state to when the memory was originally stored. The encoding specificity principle therefore refers to the greater likelihood of recalling a memory when there is similarity between the encoding event and retrieval event.
• Retrieval failure therefore occurs when information cannot be recalled because appropriate cues, which act as triggers to aid recall, are

  absent. There are different types of cues:

  • context dependant cues
  • state dependant cues
  • category dependant cues
• Evaluation of retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting

  • supporting evidence for the role of state-dependent cues Overton (1972)
  • supporting evidence for the role of context-dependent cues Godden and Baddeley (1975)
  • some critics have argued that context-dependent cues are less strong in real life.
  • it has resulted in practical applications of cognitive interviews
• What is a Post-event discussion?

  Post-event discussion refers to when people talk about an event

  after it has happened. This can result in inaccurate eyewitness

  testimonies for two reasons:

  • Memory contamination
  • Memory conformity
• Memory contamination

  Our perception and recall of events can be influenced by our own schemas and cognitive biases. This can result in people viewing the same event differently. This means that when people engage in post-event discussion,

  their eyewitness testimonies may become contaminated. This is because they may combine the information provided by the other witnesses with their own and, as a result, such memories can become misinformed.
• Memory conformity

  When witnesses to an event discuss it with each other, witnesses may go along with the others, even if their recall is incorrect, for social approval.