Retrieval failure due to lack of cues

• Description of explanations of forgetting - retrieval failure?

  Another explanation of forgetting is 'retrieval failure' where it is argued that an absence of cues may make it difficult for us to retrieve information from LTM even if it is still stored
• What is retrieval failure due to absence of cues?

  This occurs when a memory is available but we cannot access it because we don't have the necessary 'triggers' (or cues) to do so.

  -This is because when memories are initially coded, we also often code where we were at the time the information was learned (context) or how we felt (state)

  -In the same way that our memory is often triggered by returning to the context or state in which we first experienced a memory, we also often forget information when these triggers or cues aren't present at the time of retrieval (recall)
• What is context-dependent forgetting?

  -Its an inability to retrieve a memory due to an absence of environmental triggers (or cues) at the time of retrieval

  -For example learning a fact in one classroom and struggling to remember it when asked to recall in another classroom
• What is state-dependent forgetting?

  -Its an inability to retrieve a memory due to being in a different mental state at the time of retrieval to that when the memory was initially coded.

  -For example, learning new information whilst upset and struggling to remember it when feeling happier
• Evaluation (strength) - different studies

  Evidence to support context-depending forgetting comes from different studies:

  Abernethy (1940) found that if participants learned information from an instructor in one room and then were tested; they forgot far more when they were tested in a different room by a different instructor.

  Godden and Baddeley (1975) found that scuba divers who learned a word list either on land or underwater forgot most when the learning context did not match the retrieval context (e.g. learning underwater and retrieving on land). This is positive as research supports the view that retrieval failure occurs in a range of contexts.
• Evaluation (strength) - Real world applications

  A further strength of research into forgetting is that it has real-world applications:

  This means that the retrieval failure explanation can be used to reduce forgetting in the real world. Evidence for this comes from Smith (1979) who showed that just thinking of the room where you did the original learning (context reinstatement) was as effective as actually being in the same room at the time of retrieval. This is a positive because this theory might help people recall information more easily
• Evaluation(strength) - Goodwin et al (1969)


  Evidence to support state-dependent forgetting comes from Goodwin et al (1969):

  They found that male volunteers who learned a list of words whilst drunk or sober forget most when their learning state did not match their state on retrieval (e.g. those that learnt the list drunk performed worse when sober on recall). It was concluded that state-dependent forgetting applies to degrees of intoxication as well as emotion. This is positive as there is evidence from a variety of different states for this explanation of forgetting too