Forgetting - Interference theory, proactive interference, retroactive interference, Retrieval failure, The Encoding Specificity Principle

What reason does the Interference theory give for why we forget?

forgetting is due to information in the long-term memory being confused with or disrupted by other information during coding, leading to inaccurate recall

What are the 2 types of interference?

proactive interference, retroactive interference

What is proactive interference? (2)

memory impairment caused by old information that interferes with new information, so it is harder to remember the new information

Give an example of proactive interference (4)

If you learnt French a year ago, and now you’re learning Spanish, the French you learnt may interfere with you learning the Spanish, so you struggle to learn the Spanish now

What did Jacoby et al do in 2001?

Jacoby argued that proactive interference occurs because of competition between the strength of the old learning and the weakness of the new learning

What is retroactive interference? (2)

memory impairment caused by new information that interferes with old information, so you struggle to remember the old information

Give an example of retroactive interference

learning a new phone number causes you to forget the old phone number

What is retrieval failure?

forgetting due to the absence of cues

What does the retrieval failure theory state about the process of how information is forgotten?

when information is placed in memory, their associated cues are stored at the same time, if these associated cues are not present at the time of recall, information can be forgotten

What does retrieval failure suggest about the information that is forgotten? (2)

the information is still available for recall, but it cannot be accessed until the associated cues are present

Who developed the Encoding Specificity Principle in 1983?

Tulving

What is the Encoding Specificity Principle? (3)

Cues present at the coding of information must be present at the recall of the information, if these associated cues cues at coding and retrieval are different, some information can be forgotten

Give an example to explain the Encoding Specificity Principle (2)

if you revise for an exam in school and complete the exam in school you are more likely to remember information for the exam, than if you revise for the exam at home and complete the exam in school

What are context cues? (2)

cues about your environment that are recorded at the same time as the information, they can help prompt recall if they are present at the time of recall

When does context dependent forgetting occur?

when context cues are not present at the time of recall

What is internal state? (2)

cues about how you are feeling, if the same internal state is present at the time of recall it can help prompt recall

When does state dependent forgetting occur?

when internal state at coding is different to the internal state at recall

Who performed a study on deep-water divers and recall in different environments in 1975? (2)

Godden and Baddeley

Who performed an experiment on state dependent forgetting in 1998? (2)

Carter and Cassaday

How do you explain context dependent forgetting/state dependent forgetting in an exam question?

retrieval failure theory