explanations for forgetting: retrieval failure

• Context-Dependent Forgetting


  Forgetting due to mismatched learning and recall environments.
• CARTER AND CASSIDY- ANTIHISTAMINE DRUGS

  - State depending study

  - Participants learn list of words/phrases and later recalled them

  - Condition 1: learn and recall while on drug

  - Condition 2: learn on drug, recall off drug

  - Condition 3: learn off drug, recall on drug

  - Condition 4: learn and recall off drug

  - recall was significantly worse in mismatched situations compared to matched


  + Real life applications, can be used in exams and to avoid age related memory loss. It also relies on people to remember information accurately.

  - ethics, the drugs are given when it's not needed this can lead to addiction
• DEEP-SEA DIVERS STUDY- GODDEN AND BADDELEY

  - tests context forgetting

  - deep sea divers learned sets of words and were asked to recall them

  - Group 1: learn and recall on land

  - Group 2: learn on land and recall underwater

  - Group 3: learn underwater and recall on land

  - Group 4: learn and recall underwater

  - When the environmental context doesn't match accuracy was 40% lower than when they did match


  + contacts related cues have useful every day applications when we have trouble remembering something it's worth revising and revisiting the environment you first learnt it

  - context effects are usually not very strong in real life learning something in one room and recalling it in another is unlikely to result in much forgetting environments aren't different enough
• Environmental Contexts


  Surroundings affecting learning and recall accuracy.
• Retrieval Failure 


  Inability to access stored information when needed.
• Cues (context dependent forgetting)

  Stimuli that aid in memory retrieval.
• State-Dependent Forgetting


  Forgetting influenced by internal states during learning.
• Mismatched Cues (context dependent forgetting)

  Cues present during learning absent during recall.
• Tulving's Theory (context dependent forgetting)

  Suggests retrieval failure relates to cue availability.
• Encoding


  Process of transforming information into memory.
• Recall


  Retrieving information from memory storage.
• Accuracy of Recall (context dependent forgetting)

  Dependence on environmental and internal cues.