Retrieval Failure

• What is Retrieval Failure theory?


  Difficulty recalling information due to the absence of cues present during encoding, that are associated with the memory.
• What is Tulving’s Encoding Specificity Principle?


  Memory retrieval is more effective when the cues present during encoding are also present during retrieval.

  If cues are absent or different at retrieval, then forgetting will occur
• what is one way that cues can be linked to material?


  mnemonically - meaningful techniques
• what did Godden and Baddeley 1975 investigate in their study for retrieval failure?


  context-dependent forgetting
• What was the aim of Godden and Baddeley‘s retrieval failure study in 1975?


  they wanted to investigate whether the same environmental cue at encoding and recalling would affect memory
• what were the measures of Godden and Baddely’s retrieval failure study?


  • DV: the participants ability to recall lists of words (5lists X 36words)
  • IV: the counterbalanced conditions they were in/ if their environmental condition was matched or unmatched
  • sample: 18 participants -> 16 original
  • Conditions: D -> dry condition/ on land near the water, W -> wet condition/ underwater (diving)
• What was the procedure of Godden and Baddeley’s retrieval failure study - wet condition?


  • used 2 DUC devices 20ft underwater , that participants heard a tape recording twice on - including the list of words needed to learn
  • then heard a 15 digit sequence that the had to copy
  • then ascend to shore (especially if having the dry condition afterwards)
  • afterwards, write down all tat they could remember in 2 minutes
• what was the procedure of Godden & Baddeley’s retrieval failure study in the dry conditions?


  • heard the tape recording of instructions and the lists of words they needed to recall
  • Hears a 15 digit code that hey had to copy
  • Then had to write down all they can remember within 2 minutes
  • (24 hour wait time from when they were learning to recalling)
• what were the results from Godden and Baddeley’s retrieval failure studies?


  • When learning and recalling in the same environments, the better the results were
  • There is no significant difference between in the unmatched conditions
  • No significant difference between recall in both DD and WW conditions
  • Results are inline with the hypothesis of context-dependent memory
• what was the aim of Carter and Cassaday 1998 retrieval failure study?


  to investigate if the role of physiological state would affect recall of memory
• what were the measures of Carter an Cassaday‘s 1998 retrieval failure study?


  • IV: type of condition - if the participant was in a physiological state or not
  • DV: ability to recall from 3 ways of measuring - cued list, summary, un-cued list
  • Physiological state - fatigue -> cause by an antihistamine
  • 4 conditions to counterbalance AH-AH, P-P, AH-P, P-AH