retrieval failure theory

what is retrieval failure?

a form of forgetting that occurs when info is available in the LTM store but cannot be accessed/recalled due to the absence of appropriate cues

what did Tulving do in relation to retrieval failure?

reviewed research and discovered a consistent pattern to the findings

what is a cue?

a trigger of information that allows us to access a memory

what does the encoding specificity principle state?

if a cue is to help is to recall information, it has to be present at encoding and retrieval

what is a meaningful cue?

a cue that is linked to material to be remembered in a meaningful way

• this involves mnemonic techniques, e.g. acronyms

what is context-dependent forgetting?

occurs when recall depends on external cues linked to the environment

what has research found about memory performance?

it is reduced when the environment differs from encoding to retrieval

what researchers conducted a study on context-dependent forgetting?

Godden and Baddeley

Godden and Baddeley study - method

• deep sea divers were made to learn a list of words either underwater or on land then were asked to recall them either underwater or on land, this created four conditions:

  • learn on land, recall on land

  • learn on land, recall underwater

  • learn underwater, recall underwater

  • learn underwater, recall on land

Godden and Baddeley study - findings

• in two of the conditions, the environmental contexts of learning and recall matched, whereas in the other two they didn’t

• accurate recall was about 40% lower in the non-matching conditions

  • this was because the external cues available at learning were different from the ones available at recall, leading to retrieval failure

what is state-dependent forgetting?

occurs when recall depends on internal cues linked to your emotional and physical state

what researchers conducted a study on state-dependent forgetting?

Carter and Cassaday

Carter and Cassaday - study

• gave antihistamine drugs to participants, this made them slightly drowsy

• this created an internal physiological state different from the normal state of being awake and alert

• participants then had to learn a list of words, then recall the info, this created four conditions:

  • learn on drug, recall on drug

  • learn on drug, recall not on drug

  • learn not on drug, recall not on drug

  • learn not on drug, recall on drug

Carter and Cassaday - findings

in conditions where there was a mismatch between internal state at learning and recall, performance on the memory test was slightly worse

• therefore when the cues are absent, there is more forgetting

what are the strengths and weaknesses of retrieval failure?

strengths:

• supporting research

• real life applications

weaknesses:

• researchers can question the context effects of forgetting

• problems with the encoding specificity principle

supporting research

• research by Godden and Baddeley supports context dependent forgetting

• research by Carter and Cassaday supports state dependent forgetting

  • both studies take place in a highly controlled lab environment where extraneous variables can be controlled

• evidence therefore increases the validity of retrieval failure as an explanation of forgetting

real life applications

• research has shown that recall is better when individuals are in the same environment or mental state as when they learned the info

• this understanding has practical uses in education, as students can improve their memory by using techniques such as context-dependent cues (e.g. studying in environments similar to exam conditions) or state-dependent cues (e.g. recreating the mood they were in while learning)

• therefore is an applicable explanation of forgetting

researchers can question the context effects of forgetting

• Baddeley argues that context effects are not actually very strong in real life

• contexts have to be very different before an effect on memory is seen

  • for example, learning something in one room and recalling it in another is unlikely to result in forgetting as the environments aren’t different enough

• therefore we must question how effective real life applications of retrieval failure are as an explanation of forgetting

problems with the encoding specificity principle

• ESP isn’t scientifically testable

• in experiments where a cue produces successful recall of a word, we assume the cue was encoded at the time of learning

  • however this is just an assumption - there is no way to scientifically test/establish whether the cue has been encoded or not

• the inability to test the ESP scientifically questions the credibility and validity of it