Explanations for forgetting

• Interference Theory

  • Suggests that we forget because our long term memories become disrupted by other information while it is coded.
• Types of Interference

  • Proactive Interference
  • Retro-active Interference
• • Proactive Interference is when recalling new info gets disrupted by old info that is already stored.
  • Interference works forward in time
• • Retro-active interference is when the recall of old info gets disrupted by new info being stored.
  • Works backwards in time
• Two things making interference more likely

  • Similarity
  • Time Sensitivity
• Similarity

  • Interference is more likely to occur when the two pieces of info are similar
  • This is due to "response competition"
• Time sensitivity

  • Interference is less likely to occur when there is a large gap between instances of learning.
• Eval for retro-active interference - Schmidt et al

  • Investigated retroactive interference using the memory of childhood street names.
  • 11-79 year olds were sent a questionnaire containing a map around the area of their old school without street names.
  • Found that the more times an individual moved houses, the fewer street names recalled.
  • Suggesting retro-active interference.
• Eval for Proactive interference - Greenberg and Underwood

  • Asked PPTs to learn 10 paired word lists.
  • Gave PPTs 48 hrs before recall, and repeated 4 times.
  • Found that the number of correctly recalled word pairs decreased the more word pairs that had been previously learnt.
  • Providing evidence for pro-active interference.
• • Cue dependent forgetting is where info in the LTM is lost due to the absence of cues that were encoded at the same time.
  • Known as the encoding specificity principle.
• Types of Cues

  • Context dependant cues
  • State dependant cues
  • Category dependant cues
• Context dependant cues

  • Cues we get from the external environment.
  • Eg. sights, sounds, and smells.
• State dependant cues

  • Cues we get from our own internal environment.
  • Eg. being in an emotional state, or intoxicated.
• Category dependant cues

  • The way we organise info can act as a cue.
  • Other bits of info linked to what we are trying to recall acts as a cue.
• Eval for context dependant cues - Godden and Baddeley.

  • Studied divers, asking them to learn new material either on dry land or underwater.
  • Then tested recall on either dry land or underwater.
  • Found that recall was worse if in a different context and better if in the same.
  • Suggesting being in the same environment for both learning and recall aids recall by providing context cues.
• Eval for State dependant cues - Overton

  • Asked PPTs to learn material either drunk or sober
  • Then tested them on this info either drunk or sober.
  • Found that recall was worse if in a different internal state from learning, and best if the internal state was the same as learning.
  • Suggesting being in the same state for learning and recall aids recall by providing state dependant cues.
• Eval for category dependant cues - Tulving and Pearlstone

  • Asked PPTs to learn 48 words.
  • PPTs either used free recall or normal recall matching 12, 4word categories.
  • Found that PPTs recalled significantly more in the category condition.
  • Suggesting the categories acted as cues aiding recall.
• Eval

  • Research into forgetting has helped in the real world by developing the cognitive interview.