overemphaised

• Point: Another limitation is that the theory may overemphasise the role of context and state cues in memory retrieval.​Evidence: While studies like Godden and Baddeley (1975) and Carter and Cassaday (1998) highlight the importance of cues, not all forgetting can be explained by absent cues alone.​
• Explanation: Other factors, such as interference (proactive and retroactive) or decay over time, might also contribute to forgetting, but retrieval failure theory does not fully address these aspects. The overfocus on cues ignores the complexity of forgetting, which may involve a range of memory processes.​Link: This limitation suggests that retrieval failure due to absent cues is not a complete explanation of forgetting and that other theories should also be considered.