This investigation looks at retrieval failure in the long-term memory,
particularly context-dependant forgetting. The theory behind retrieval
failure is that available information stored in the long-term memory
cannot be accessed because the retrieval cues are defective.
Cue-dependant forgetting theory focuses on the assumption that the
context in which we learn something is significant when we come to
recall the information. Recall is better if it takes place in the same
context as the learning.
Research conducted on retrieval failure includes Tulving and
Pearlstone (1966) who studied intrinsic cues by asking subjects to
learn a list of words from different categories. Participants were
told that they did not need to remember category headings. When tested
after, participants given category headings were able to recall more
words than those who were not. The participants recalled 20% more in
cued recall than free recall. Assuming this, the free recall group
could have recalled as many as the cued recall group if to were given
the cues, therefore the information was there to be accessed but
unavailable due to absence of cues. In other words, their poor recall
was due to retrieval failure. In this investigation the cues for
recall will be odours instead of categories.
Tulving and Thompson (1973) proposed the concept of the
encoding-specificity principle, which assumes a relationship between
encoding and retrieval. This is the idea that recall is greater if the
retrieval context matches or is similar to the encoding context.
Baddeley however pointed out that this theory is impossible to test
and therefore it cannot be disproved. There is no way to determine
whether or not information has been encoded and the
encoding-specificity principle suggests that if a certain stimulus
does not lead to retrieval of a memory it must not have been encoded.
Although Baddeley acknowledges this he also states that there is no
doubt about the importance of cues in retrieving information from our
memory. (Baddeley 1997).
Internal cues have also been associated with retrieval failure;
research has been done into what is called state dependent forgetting.
Roediger III, H. L., Watson, J. M., McDermott, K. B., & Gallo, D. A. (2001). Factors that determine false recall: A multiple regression analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 8(3), 385-407.
Marsh, R. L., Cook, G. I., & Hicks, J. L. (2006). The effect of context variability on source memory. Memory & Cognition (Pre-2011), 34(8), 1578-86.
Amici curiae is a social psychologist and legal scholar who studies the effects of the Recovered Memory Syndrome on individuals’ behaviors and judicial practices. Amici has conducted research and published several peer-reviewed articles explaining the role of hypnosis in uncovering repressed memories and related traumas that come along with it. This brief intends to provide the Court with relevant and current literature explaining the recovered memory phenomenon and its relationship with psychotherapeutic techniques where recovery of memories often occurs. Research presented by amici demonstrates that cases of sexual abuse, real or imagined, must be given careful consideration as victims undergo significant emotional
Interference in memory recall can be affected by nutrition deficiencies and stress. Korsakoff’s syndrome which is as a result of a lack of vitamin B1 or thiamine, does adversely affect memory in some patients with alcoholism (Carlson, 2010). Stress has also been found to interfere with recall in people when faced with the stress of surviving a natural disaster. Usually Korsakoff’s syndrome is found in older patients who have drunk alcohol for decades, but the thiamine deficiency can cause cognitive impairments in younger patients also (Terry, 2009).
Memory is a group of related mental processes that are involved in acquiring, storing, and retrieving information (Hockenberry and Hocenberry page 232). I will be addressing two specific types of memory: short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory holds temporary information transferred from sensory memory or long-term memory. Sensory memory is the first stage of memory and obtains information for a brief amount of time. Short-term memory is also called active memory and is stored in the prefrontal cortex which is the most active part of the brain during an activity. Short-term memory can hold information for roughly twenty seconds, but sensory memory holds information for a shorter amount of time. We usually store things such
In the article, “The Critical Importance of Retrieval For Learning” the researchers were studying human learning and memory by presenting people with information to be learned in a study period and testing them on the information that they were told to learn in order to see what they were able to retain. They also pointed out that retrieval of information in a test, is considered a neutral event because it does not produce learning. Researchers were trying to find a correlation between the speed of something being learned and the rate at which it is forgotten
...Baddeley (1966) study of encoding in the short term memory and long term memory supports the MSM model on the mode of processing such that words are processed on recall and both models share the same opinion that processing does influence recall. Finally, the MSM model of memory states that all information is stored in the long term memory, however, this interpretation contrasts with that of Baddeley (1974) who argue that we store different types of memories and it is unlikely that they occur only in the LTM store. Additionally, other theories have recognised different types of memories that we experience, therefore it is debatable that all these different memories occur only in the long-term memory as presumed by the multi-store model which states the long term memory store as with unlimited capacity, in addition it also fails to explain how we recall information.
The horrible feeling of forgetting a coworker’s or an acquaintance’s name may be one of the most frustrating things a person can experience. This is a fact that many patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s face on a reoccurring basis. Loss of memory is a common part of the aging process and is sometimes referred to as dementia. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and is not reversible in this day and age. In fact, 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases are Alzheimer’s and in 2015 more than 5.1 million cases age 65 or older were reported (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016). The most startling statistic is that by 2050, 14 million Americans and 81 million worldwide cases are expected (Wierenga & Bondi, 2011). While dementia is a part of Alzheimer’s it also affects an afflicted patient ability to perform day to day tasks, increased mood swings, and in the later stages, the ability to even walk or care for themselves. This horrible disease
Human memory is flexible and prone to suggestion. “Human memory, while remarkable in many ways, does not operate like a video camera” (Walker, 2013). In fact, human memory is quite the opposite of a video camera; it can be greatly influenced and even often distorted by interactions with its surroundings (Walker, 2013). Memory is separated into three different phases. The first phase is acquisition, which is when information is first entered into memory or the perception of an event (Samaha, 2011). The next phase is retention. Retention is the process of storing information during the period of time between the event and the recollection of a piece of information from that event (Samaha, 2011). The last stage is retrieval. Retrieval is recalling stored information about an event with the purpose of making an identification of a person in that event (Samaha, 2011).
Farrants, J. (1998, September). The 'false' memory debate. Counseling Psychology Quarterly. Retrieved September 14, 2000 from ProQuest database (Bell & Howell Information and Learning-ProQuest) on the World Wide Web: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb
Murdock (1962) conducted another experiment in order to analyze free recall. Six groups of participants had different combinations of list lengths...
Williams, Y 2003, ‘Retrieval Cues: Definition, Examples & Quiz’ Education portal, Veiwed on the 22nd of march 2014
...re I think if the participants are not aware of it, the false recall rate will increase. And if there are more words presented, my assume is that it will increase the false recall rate.
...Dermott, K. B. (1996). Misinformation effects in recall: Creating false memories through repeated retrieval. Journal of Memory and Language, 5(2), 300-318. doi: 10.1006/jmla.1996.0017
Learning and memory are fascinating. The world could not function without either. They both are used in many different fashions in a wide variety of places. Learning and Memory have been carefully studied by professionals but are also well known and used by the common people on a daily basis. I am one of those common people, a student who is constantly learning and making the most of my memory. Since enrolling in The Psychology of Learning and Memory class I have come to the realization that I encounter situations in my life that exemplify the very concepts I have studied. I have also learned that it is beneficial to apply the lessons learned in class to my everyday life. Positive reinforcement, learned helplessness and serial recall are a few among many of the learning and memory models that have come to action in my life and in my final reflections surrounding the course.