Theories of forgetting

What are the 2 theories of forgetting?

• Retrieval failure

• Interference theory

What is retrieval failure theory?

Forgetting occurs in the absence of appropriate cues

What did Tulving and Thompson propose in relation to retrieval failure theory?

Encoding specificity principle

What does the encoding specificity principle state?

The cues must be present at encoding and at retrieval. If the cues available at encoding/ retrieval are different, we forget.

What are the 3 types of forgetting under retrieval failure?

• context dependant

• State dependant

• Category dependant

What is context dependant forgetting?

Being in different place may inhibit memory- external environment

What is state dependant forgetting?

Being in different mood/ state of arousal may inhibit memory

What is category dependant forgetting?

Lack of organisation may inhibit memory

Evaluation- What are 2 strengths of retrieval failure?

• Impressive range of research which supports the theory

  → studies by Godden+Baddely and Carter+Cassady are 2 examples of this research

  → evidence validates the theory

• RWA- revision/ dementia patients

  → Helps students understand importance of organisation+ gives them revision tips

  memory can be enhanced using mnemonics and category headlines

  → helps patients with dementia feel more comfortable

  in arrowe park, they’ve added old nostalgic style decor to the dementia award to help patients adjust to their surroundings, lesson likelihood to fall and reduce their reliance on medication as they’ll feel more at ease in a recognisable environment

Evaluation- 1 limitation of retrieval failure?

The context effect may be related to the kind of memory being tested

→ Godden+Baddely 1980 replicated their underwater test but used recognition test instead of recall- PPs had to say whether they recognised a word read to them from the list instead of retrieving it themselves. When recognition was tested, there was NO context dependant effect; performance was the same in all 4 conditions.

→ Limitation of context effect because it means presence/ absence of cues only affects memory when tested in a certain way

What is the interference theory?

When 2 memories conflict/ become mixed up with each other and result in forgetting

When is interference theory more likely to occur?

When material is similar (creates response competition)

What are the 2 types of intereference?

• proactive

• Retroactive

What’s proactive interference?

When old memory disrupts a newer memory

What’s retroactive interference?

When newer memory disrupts old memory

Evaluation- what’s 1 strength of interference theory?

Consistent findings

→ interference in memory has one of the most consistently demonstrated findings in the whole of psychology

Mcgeogh+Mcdonald found that the most similar material produced the worst recall and Baddely+Hitch rugby player study also drew the conclusion that when you see lots of similar material, higher rates of interference (makes forgetting worse).

→ consistent findings validate the theory

Evaluation- 2 limitations of Interference theory?

• Most experiments are lab based

• Interference tends not to occur with experts- Why?