retrieval failure

• what is retrieval failure?

  absence of cues and context leads to forgetting
• what is the encoding specificity principle?

  Memory retrieval is most effective when the conditions at the time of encoding match the conditions at the time of retrieval.

  Tulving and Thompson (1973)
• what was the aim of Tulving and Parlstone and what was their method (retrieval failure)

  aim - investigated retrieval failure using categories as cues

  method- ppts given a total of 48 words to remember. The words were organised into 12 categories. at the start of each 4 word set was the category heading. ppts asked to recall sets of words but not the headings. control group were asked to remember as many as they could
• how did Abernathy investigate context dependant cues?

  students tested in various conditions

  group 1 - in their teaching room by usual instructor

  group 2- in their teaching room with different instructor

  group 3- different room by their usual teacher

  group 4- different room and different teacher

  those tested in the same room and with the same instructor be formed best when tested
• what are the strengths of retrieval failure?

  abernethy’s experiment with 4 different groups

  godden and baddely- tested context cues with divers. had to learn 40 words in one of four conditions

  learned on land tested on land

  learned on land tested in water

  learned in water tested in water

  learned in water tested on land

  1 and 3 performed best

  Godwin- men given a list of words to learn and recall 24 hours later. men who learned and recalled both times sober or drunk did best
• what are the weaknesses of retrieval failure?

  most studies lack mundane realism as they use word lists and are almost always tested 24 hours later.

  danger of circularity- hard to prove forgetting has taken place as we dont know that it went into the person’s memory

  context in real life has to be very different to affect recall