Retrieval failure

• Retrieval failure

  • Infomation is still there
  • there is a lack of triggers/ cues
• Cue

  A tigger of information that allows us to access a memory
• External cues

  Context dependant e.g place, smell, weather
• Internal cues

  State dependant e. g emotional, mood, dunk
• Encoding specificity principle

  A cue must be present at encoding and retrieval
• Braddeley - External Cue study (1975)


  Got 4 groups of divers to learn and recall in different or same conditions

  1. Learn on land -> Recall on land
  2. Learn on land -> Recall underwater
  3. Learn underwater -> Recall on land
  4. Learn underwater -> Recall underwater
• Braddeley external cue study (1975) - Results


  Accurate recall was 40% lower in the non matching conditons
• Goodwin et al internal cue study (1969)


  Investigated the affect of alcohol on state dependent retrieval

  1. Hid money drunk -> Couldn't find it sober
  2. When drunk again they rediscovered
• Cater and Cassaday Internal cue study (1969)


  Got 4 groups to encode and recall in different internal states:

  1. Learn on drug -> Recall on drug
  2. Learn on drug -> Recall off drug
  3. Learn off drug -> Recall off drug
  4. Learn off drug -> Recall on drug
• Cater and Cassaday Internal cue study (1969) - Results


  Participants with mismatched conditions recall was worse
• Evaluation- Strength

  Real world application, research allows us to use strategies in real life
• Evaluation - Limitation

  Baddeleys water experiment- Conditions were too extreme
• Evaluation - Limitation

  The water experiment used recognition not recall so only limited accuracy.