Retrieval Failure- Explanations for Forgetting

• Overview:

  Another reason for forgetting is insufficient cues. When information is initially placed in memory, associated cues store that the same time. If these aren't available upon recall, it may appear as though information is forgotten- but it is due to retrieval failure.
• Encoding Specificity Principle (ESP)

  Tulving reviewed research into retrieval failure and discovered a consistent pattern in findings, demonstrated in the ESP.

  Stating that if a cue is to be useful to remember information then it must be present during recall and retrieval. Some cues are used within the material itself, some use mnemonic techniques, and some cues that are encoded along with the STM aren't meaningful. They are CDF and CSF.
• Context-Dependent Forgetting (Procedure)

  Godden and Baddeley used deep sea divers as in their role it is important to remember instructions on land and in sea.

  Procedure- divers either learned a list of words underwater or on land, and were then asked to recall these either underwater or on land- which made 4 conditions.
• Context-Dependent Forgetting (Findings)

  Godden and Baddeley

  Findings- in the 2 conditions where environmental contexts of learning and recall matched, accurate recall was higher. Accurate recall was 40% lower in non-matching conditions; as the external cues available at encoding were different to that at recall- causing retrieval failure.
• State-Dependent Forgetting (Procedure)

  Carter and Cassaday

  Procedure- they some p's an antihistamine drug which has a mild sedative effect which makes them slightly drowsy. This then creates an internal psychological state which differs from the 'normal' state of being awake and learning. This then made 4 conditions.
• State-Dependent Forgetting (Findings)

  Carter and Cassaday

  Findings- in conditions where states didn't match, performance on the memory test was significantly worse as the cues were absent which then caused more forgetting.
• AO3: Supporting Evidence

  One prominent memory researcher, Eysenck argues that retrieval failure is the main reason for forgetting from LTM. There are a range of studies which support this idea which increases the validity of the explanation. This is especially true when the research demonstrates that the effects of retrieval failure occur in real-life situations as well as controlled lab conditions.
• AO3: Questioning Context Effects

  Baddeley argues that the context effects aren't actually very strong, especially in real-life. Different contexts have to be very different before an effect is seen. Though this effect may have been more visible in land and water, recalling something in two different rooms is unlikely to result in as much forgetting. This then limits the research conclusions, as retrieval failure due to context cues doesn't explain much forgetting.
• AO3: Recall versus Recognition

  The context effect may be related to the kind of memory being tested. Godden and Baddeley replicated their underwater study but used a recognition test. P's had to state if they recognised the words as being in the original list. When this was tested there was no context-dependent effect as performance was the same in all 4 conditions. Meaning the presence or absence of cues is only relevant when testing in a specific way.
• AO3: Problems with ESP

  The ESP is untestable and then leads to a circular form of reasoning. This is because in an experiment where the cue causes successful recall, it is assumed that it must have been encoded at the same time as learning. But if the cue doesn't assist during recall, we assume it wasn't present. Though these are only assumptions as there is no way to test whether a cue has been encoded.
• AO3: Real-Life Applications

  Although context-related cues appear to have have only a slight effect on forgetting, Baddeley still suggests that it is worth paying attention to. This is because if we have trouble remembering something, making an effort to recall it in the environment we learned it can help.

  This has been applied to the Cognitive Interview where individuals are asked to 'reinstate context' to help them to mentally go back to the scene where the incident happened to note additional information.