Forgetting

• The two reasons for forgetting are interference and retrieval failure
• The two types of interference are proactive interference and retroactive interference
• Proactive interference is when old learning affects the recall of new information. what we already know interferes with the learning of new information
• Retroactive interference is when new learning affects the recall of old information. when new information interferes with what we already know
• What was Baddley and Hitch experiment into interference?

  Rugby players asked to recall names of teams they played that season. those who had played more games remembered less than those who had played less games (due to injury)
• Retrieval failure is when information is placed in memory alongside associated cues, if the cues aren't available at the time of recall then memory cant be accessed
• State dependant forgetting is when internal cues present at the time of learning are now absent
• Context-dependant forgetting is when external environmental cues that were present during learning are now absent
• What was Godden and Baddeley's research into retrieval failure?

  Scuba divers learnt/recalled a list of words either on land or underwater, 4 conditions on differing combinations of land/water. highest recall when environmental context matched when recalling and learning the words
• What was Goodwin et al's research into state dependant forgetting?

  Volunteers learnt a list of words when they were either drunk or sober, after 24 hours they were asked to recall the list. 4 conditions of drunk/sober. recall highest when participants were in the same psychological and physical state as when they learnt the list