Explanations for forgetting

• Interference theory

  Muller and Pitzecher (1900)
• Retroactive interference

  Current attempts to learn something new interferes with past learning
• Proactive interference

  Underwood (1957)
• Proactive interference

  Past learning interferes with current attempts to learn something
• Underwood showed PI could be equally significant

  He analysed findings from a number of studies - word lists learnt first are better remembered than lists learned later

  If memorised 10 or more lists: 24 hrs later they remember 20%

  If memorised 1 list: 24hrs later they remember 70%
• Baddeley and Hitch (1977)


  Rugby players ability to recall names of teams played over a season, some played all games, some missed some games
• B+H aim

  To investigate if interference was a better explanation for forgetting than the passing of time was
• B+H independent variable

  The number of games played
• B+H dependent variable

  The number of teams remembered
• Retrieval failure

  The absence of cues
• Encoding specificity principle - Endel Tulving (1983)


  Cue has to be present at encoding (learning) and present at retrieval
• Meaningful cue

  Mnemonic (STM, LTM,)
• Non-meaningful cues

  Context dependent - weather when learning

  State dependent - being drunk when learning
• Godden and Baddeley (1975) study on deep sea dives

  4 conditions:

  Learn on land - recall on land

  Learn on land - recall underwater

  Learn underwater - recall on land

  Learn underwater- recall underwater

  Recall 40% lower in mismatched conditions

  Shows importance of external cues