idea that we forget because memories have disappeared
retrieval failure
idea that we forget because we can’t find the memory
interference theory
when one memory interferes with the ability another memory
proactive interference
when an old memory interferes with the retrieval of a new memory
retroactive interference
when new memory interferes with the retrieval of an old memory
retrieval cues
prompts that we associate with a particular memory to trigger a memory of an original experience, eg. smelling candy floss and remembering the time at an amusement park
external cues
features of the environment that we experience at the time we encode a memory
internal cues
features of our internal environment around the time we encode a memory, mood, tiredness, thoughts and state of intoxication
context dependent forgetting
occurs when a person is unable to retrieve a memory because the external environment that the memory was encoded in differs from environment the memory needs to be retrieved in
state dependent forgetting
when a person is unable to retrieve a memory because their internal state at the time of encoding is different from internal state when the memory needs to be retrieved
if two memories very similar, likely to be associated with the same retrieval cue
