Retrieval failure

• What is retrieval failure?

  We forget when we don’t have the necessary cues to access a memory
• explain retrieval failure further

  • when information is placed in memory, associated cues are stored at the same time.
  • if these are not available during recall, youre unable to access the memory.
• what are cues?

  triggers of information
• who reviewed research on retrieval failure and is the key psychologist for ESP?

  Tulving 1983
• what is encoding specifity principle?

  if a cue is to help us recall information, it must be present during coding and at retrieval
• what happens when cues are absent or different?

  there will be some forgetting
• what are the 2 types of forgetting?

  • context-dependent forgetting.
  • state-dependent forgetting.
• what is context-dependent forgetting?

  external cues such as environment
• what is state-dependent forgetting?

  internal cues such as mood
• who were the key psychologists for context-dependent forgetting?

  godden and baddeley 1975
• what was the procedure for the context-dependent forgetting?

  • learnt lists of words either on land or underwater.
  • recalled lists either on land or underwater
• state the 4 conditions in the context-dependent forgetting experiment?

  1. learn on land - recall on land
  2. learn on land - recall underwater
  3. learn underwater - recall underwater
  4. learn underwater - recall on land
• what were the findings to the context-dependent forgetting experiment?

  • accurate recall was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions
• why was accurate recall 40% lower in the non-matching condiitons?

  the external cues available at learning were different from the ones at recall which led to retrieval failure
• who were the key psychologists for state-dependent forgetting?

  carter and cassady 1998
• how did the drug work in the state-dependent forgetting experiment?

  • anti-histamine
  • mild sedative effect
  • made them slightly drowsy
• describe the findings of the state-dependent forgetting experiment?

  where there was a mismatch between conditions, performance was slightly worse
• why was performance worse when there was a mismatch between the conditions?

  when the cues are absent, there is more forgetting
• Evaluate baker et al 2004?

  • Gum and gum
  • Gum and no gum
  • No gum and no gum
  • No gum and gum.
  • The average number of words recalled correctly was highest with gum and gum
• evaluate Baddeley in 1997?

  • different contexts have to be very different before an effect is seen.
  • learning something in one room and forgetting it in another is unlikely as the environment isn’t different enough
• evaluate godden and baddeley 1980?

  • replicated underwater experiment but used recognition test instead of recall.
  • Performance was the same.
  • Absence of cues only affects memory when you test it in a certain way