A01

• What is retrieval failure?

  Forgetting information due to the absence of cues; the information is available but not accessible.
• Define the encoding specificity principle

  Cues at learning must be present at retrieval to aid memory
• Name the two types of retrieval failure

  1. State-dependent forgetting

  2. Context-dependent forgetting
• What is context-dependent forgetting?

  Memory is more effective if the external environment is the same at learning and recall.
• What is state-dependent forgetting?

  Memory is more effective if your internal state is the same at learning and recall
• Outline the research support for context-dependent forgetting - include the researchers, procedures and findings

  Godden and Baddeley (1975) - deep sea divers:

  - deep sea divers learned a list of words either underwater or on land and then asked to recall the words either underwater or on land creating 4 conditions:

  1. learn on land -> recall on land

  2. learn on land -> recall underwater

  3. learn underwater -> recall underwater

  4. learn underwater -> recall on land

  - recall was 40% lower in non-matching conditions as the external cues available at learning were different from the ones at recall = retrieval failure
• Outline the research support for state-dependent forgetting - include the researchers, procedures and findings

  Carter and Cassaday (1998) - anti-histamines:

  - participants were given anti-histamine drugs making them drowsy

  - participants had to learn lists of words and passages of prose and then recall info, creating 4 conditions:

  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

  - recall was significantly worse in conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall
• Outline the research support for the encoding specificity principle - include the researchers, procedure and findings

  Tulving and Pearlstone (1966):

  - participants had to learn a list of 48 words belonging to categories

  - asked to recall the words in one of 2 conditions:

  1. free recall - not given categories

  2. cued recall - given categories

  - participants in free recall condition recalled 40% of words, whereas participants in cued recall recalled 60% of words