Explanations for forgetting

• Identify the two explanations for forgetting

  Interference theory and retrieval failure due to absence of cues
• Outline Interference explanation for forgetting

  Interference refers to when two pieces of information become confused in memory, resulting in one or both pieces of information being forgotten. This is likely to occur when the two pieces of information are similar and can be made less likely to occur if there is a gap between learning two similar pieces of information.
• Outline the proactive interference theory for forgetting

  Proactive interference refers to when old information interferes with new information, resulting in the new information being forgotten. E.g. a person may struggle to recall their new phone number because they keep recalling their old number.
• Outline the retroactive interference theory for forgetting

  Retroactive interference refers to when new information interferes with old information, resulting in the old information being forgotten. E.g. a teacher may have learned so many new names of students this year that they forget the names of the student they taught last year.
• A strength of the interference theory SE

  two groups: Group A were asked to learn a list of word pairs before being asked to learn a second list of word pairs where the second word was different. Group B, were asked to learn the first list of word pairs only. group B's recall of the first list of word pairs was more accurate than group A's - recalled the words from the second list of word pairs. strength suggests that learning the second list of word pairs interfered with participants' ability to recall the first list of word pairs, demonstrating retroactive interference. adds credibility.
• Limitation of interference theory is that it is more likely to be demonstrated in lab research than real-life

  This is because most of the research has involved participants recalling random lists of words. This is a limitation because this fails to represent the information remember in day-to-day life such as people's faces, your favourite holiday etc. where memories are more likely to have an emotional clement and are therefore less likely to be interfered with and forgotten. Therefore questions credibility.
• strength of interference theory effects of interference everyday situations

  research asked rugby players to try to remember the names of the teams they had played so far in that season, week by week. The results showed that accurate recall did not depend on how long ago the matches took place - depended on the number of teams they had played in the meantime. strength because it suggests the names of the teams the rugby players had played more recently interfered with the names of the teams they had played before demonstrating retroactive interference in everyday situations. adds credibility.
• A final strength of the interference theory is that it has resulted in practical applications.


  education research advises students to avoid revising similar material within a short space of time. This is because interference is more likely to occur when the two pieces of information are similar and learned within a short time of one another. This is a strength because it shows the value of the interference theory in everyday life, such as when students are revising for exams. Therefore adds credibility.
• Outline the retrieval failure due to absence of cues explanation for forgetting

  When we store/code a new memory, we also store information that occurred around it such as the way we felt or the place we were in. This means that if we cannot recall a memory, it could be because we are not in the same emotional or environmental state as when we learned it.  Retrieval failure therefore occurs when information cannot be recalled because appropriate cues/triggers are absent
• Outline the retrieval failure due to absence of cues - 2 types of cues

  One type of cue are state-dependent cues which refer to how being in the same bodily state (e.g mood) when storing and recalling a memory might improve recall. Another type are context-dependent cues which refer to how being in the same environment when storing and recalling a memory might improve recall. A final type are category-dependent cues which refer to how thinking about the wav in way in which information was organised/categorised might improve recall.
• A strength of failure due to absence of cues - supporting evidence

  one piece of research instructed participants to learn material when either drunk or sober tested recall. They found that their recall was better when they were in the same bodily state i.e. they were better recalling the information when drunk if they learned it when they were drunk and better at recalling the information when sober if they learned it when they were sober. This is a strength because it supports the claim that the absence of state-dependent cues can result in forgetting. Therefore adds credibility.
• Strength of retrieval failure due to absence of cues is that there is supporting evidence - underwater/ land

  one piece of research instructed divers to learn a list of words either on land or underwater and then recall. They found that their recall was better when they were in the same environment. This is a strength because it supports the claim that the absence of context-dependent cues can result in forgetting. Therefore adds credibility.
• Limitation of retrieval failure due to absence of cues is that context dependent cues may not be as important

  This is because contexts must be very different before an effect is seen. For example, learning something in one classroom and recalling it in another classroom is unlikely to result in much forgetting because the environments are not very different. This is a limitation because it may fail to explain much of the forgetting that occurs in everyday life. Therefore questions credibility.
• A strength of retrieval failure due to absence of cue is that it has resulted in practical applications

   the cognitive interview is a technique used by police officers to obtain more accurate and detailed information from witnesses. One technique used in the cognitive interview is context reinstatement where police officers instruct the witness to mentally recreate an image of the situation they witnessed. This is a strength because this technique, which aims to reinstate context-dependent cues, has been found to produce more accurate recall. Therefore adds credibility.