retrieval failure

• Retrieval failure

  People forget info because of insufficient cues so if the cues aren't available at the time of recall it may appear that you have forgotten the info.
• Context dependent forgetting

  Recall depends on external cue e.g. weather or place.
• State dependent forgetting

  Recall depends on internal cue e.g. feeling upset, being drunk.
• Research on state dependent forgetting(AO1)

  -Carter and cassaday gave antihistamines to participants

  -had a mild sedative effect which created an internal physicloical state different from the normal sate of being awake and alert

  -when there was a mismatch between internal sate for learning and recall performance was significantly worse

  -shows when cues are absent there is more forgetting 
• Research on context dependent forgetting(AO1)

  Golden and Baddeley got divers to learn lists of words and recall them in a different or same environment, accurate recall was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions as external cues available whilst learning weren't available at time of recall.
• Strength of retrieval cues (AO3)

  -Can help overcome forgetting in some everyday situations

  -although they may not have a strong effect Bradley suggests they are still worth paying attention to

  -shows how research can remind you of strategies we use in the real world to improve our recall 
• limitation of retrieval failure (AO3)

  -context effects may depend on the type of memory being tested

  -Godden and baddeley replicated their study but tested recognition instead of recall 

  -performance was the same for all four contions

  -shows that retrieval failure is a limited explanation for forgetting as it only applies to recall and not recognition