Explanations for forgetting: retrieval failure

• RETRIEVAL FAILURE = occurs due to the absence of cues. An explanation for forgetting based on the idea that the issue relates to being able to retrieve a memory that is there (available) but not accessible. Retrieval depends on using cues
• Encoding specificity principle


  Memory is most effective if information that was present at encoding is also available at the time of retrieval
• Encoding specificity principle


  • A cue doesn't have to be exactly right, but the closer it is to the original item the more useful it will be
• Tulving and Pearlstone (1966) study


  1. Participants learned 48 words in 12 categories

  2. Free recall condition = 40% of words recalled

  3. Cued recall condition = 60% of words recalled
• Environmental context


  Can act as cues to help access the memory
• Emotional state


  Can act as cues to help access the memory
• Context-dependant forgetting

  · Godden and Baddeley (1975): tested a group of scuba divers and how well they learnt a set of words. There were 4 conditions (learnt on land, learnt underwater, tested on land, tested underwater). The highest recall occurred when the initial context matched the recall environment.
• State-dependant forgetting

  •The mental state you are in at the time of learning can also act as a cue—state-dependant forgetting

  •Goodwin et al. (1969): asked male volunteers to remember a list of words when they were either drunk or sober. They were asked to recall the lists after 24 hours when some were sober and others had to get drunk again. This suggested that information learnt when drunk is more available when in the same state later.