Explanations for forgetting- Retrieval failure
Key terms
Retrieval failure- A form of forgetting. It occurs when we don’t have the
necessary cues to access memory. The memory is available but not accessible
unless a suitable cue is provided.
Cue- A trigger of information that allows us to access a memory. Such cues may
be meaningful or may be indirectly linked by being encoded at the time of
learning. For example, cues may be external (environmental context) or internal
(mood or degree of drunkenness).
Retrieval failure theory
Encoding specificity principle (ESP)
- Endel Tulving reviewed research into retrieval failure and discovered a
consistent pattern to the findings – encoding specificity principle.
→ This states that if a cue is to help us to recall information it has to
be present at encoding (when we learn the material) and at
retrieval.
→ It follows from this that if the cues available at the encoding and
retrieval are different (or if cues are absent at retrieval), there will
be some forgetting.
- Some cues are linked to the material to be remembered in a meaningful
way.
→ For example, the cue STM may lead you to recall about short term
memory. These are mnemonic techniques.
- Other cues are also encoded at the time or learning but not in a
meaningful way.
Context-dependent forgetting
- Duncan Godden and Alan Baddeley carried out a study of deep-sea divers
working underwater.
Procedure
- Divers learned a list of words wither underwear or n land, and then were
asked to recall the words either underwater or on land.
- This created four conditions:
→ Learn on land – recall on → Learn underwater –
land recall on land
→ Learn on land – recall → Learn underwater –
underwater recall underwater
Findings
- In two of thee conditions, the environmental contexts of learning and
recall matched, whereas in the other two they didn’t.
- Accurate recall was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions.
- The external cues available at learning were different from the ones at
recall and this led to retrieval failure.
Key terms
Retrieval failure- A form of forgetting. It occurs when we don’t have the
necessary cues to access memory. The memory is available but not accessible
unless a suitable cue is provided.
Cue- A trigger of information that allows us to access a memory. Such cues may
be meaningful or may be indirectly linked by being encoded at the time of
learning. For example, cues may be external (environmental context) or internal
(mood or degree of drunkenness).
Retrieval failure theory
Encoding specificity principle (ESP)
- Endel Tulving reviewed research into retrieval failure and discovered a
consistent pattern to the findings – encoding specificity principle.
→ This states that if a cue is to help us to recall information it has to
be present at encoding (when we learn the material) and at
retrieval.
→ It follows from this that if the cues available at the encoding and
retrieval are different (or if cues are absent at retrieval), there will
be some forgetting.
- Some cues are linked to the material to be remembered in a meaningful
way.
→ For example, the cue STM may lead you to recall about short term
memory. These are mnemonic techniques.
- Other cues are also encoded at the time or learning but not in a
meaningful way.
Context-dependent forgetting
- Duncan Godden and Alan Baddeley carried out a study of deep-sea divers
working underwater.
Procedure
- Divers learned a list of words wither underwear or n land, and then were
asked to recall the words either underwater or on land.
- This created four conditions:
→ Learn on land – recall on → Learn underwater –
land recall on land
→ Learn on land – recall → Learn underwater –
underwater recall underwater
Findings
- In two of thee conditions, the environmental contexts of learning and
recall matched, whereas in the other two they didn’t.
- Accurate recall was 40% lower in the non-matching conditions.
- The external cues available at learning were different from the ones at
recall and this led to retrieval failure.
