Topic Summaries

Explanations for forgetting

A-Level > Psychology > AQA > A-Level Psychology Topic Summaries > Memory > Explanations for forgetting
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Addiction

  • Interference theory:
    • Interference occurs when two pieces of information conflict with one another which may result in forgetting one or both pieces of information, or distortion of memory. This explanation of forgetting is usually associated with LTM where information is theoretically permanent but harder to access, which makes forgetting more likely.
    • According to this theory, forgetting is when interference makes it harder to locate a memory.Information in the LTM can also be disrupted by other information during coding, which leads to inaccurate recall.
    • Two types of interference:
      • Proactive interference: when previously stored information interferes with the attempt to recall newly added information.
      • Retroactive interference: when new information interferes with the attempt to recall previously stored information.
    • Evaluation of interference theory
      • 👥 McGeoch and McDonald (1931) conducted research into the ‘effects of similarity’ using a lab study. They gave participants a list of ten words, waited ten minutes, and then gave them another list of ten words that were different from the first list. They asked participants to recall the original list of words and found that many couldn’t. They concluded that retroactive interference had occurred as the newest information had interfered with the old. This shows evidence for interference as an explanation for forgetting.
      • 👥 Baddeley and Hitch (1977) used a natural experiment to test the ‘effects of similarity’ in recall. They asked a group of rugby players to list the names of previous teams they had played against. Some players had played in all the games whereas others had only played in a few. They discovered that players who had played in all the games forgot proportionally more teams than those who had only played in some. They concluded that the forgetting therefore wasn’t due to the amount of time passed between games but rather the games getting confused in memory due to a larger amount of unfamiliar information. This shows support for interference theory.
  • Retrieval failure: forgetting occurs when information is in the LTM but cannot be accessed due to an absence of memory cues. Memory cues can be meaningful or accidental. Accidental cues fall into two categories:
    • Context-dependent forgetting: occurs due to a lack of external retrieval cues. When the external environment differs from the one that we were in during encoding, there are no external retrieval cues to trigger remembering. For example, if you complete a test in the same classroom you learnt the information, you’re more likely to remember it than if the test is in another room.
    • State-dependent forgetting: occurs due to a lack of internal memory cues. When an individual’s internal state is different from how it was during encoding, there are no internal retrieval cues to trigger remembering. For example, completing a class test when anxious would be less effective than when relaxed if you were relaxed when learning the information.

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