2.3.2 Retrieval Failure: Cue & State Dependent

What is cue-dependent retrieval failure?

• Cue-dependent retrieval failure happens when you cannot access a memory in LTM as there are no cues to help you
• A cue is any stimulus which can prompt a memory, for example:
  • The 'Fun Song Factory' theme tune - I used to watch this all the time when I was little
  • The smell of cleaning fluid - Smells just like my primary school did at home time
  • A bright red leather jacket - I wore that when I went on my first date with Bruiser!
• In other words the cue provides the context required to retrieve the memory

Encoding specificity principle (ESP)

• The ESP (Tulving, 1983) states that:
  • cues must be present when the memory is encoded
  • e.g. the smell of cleaning fluid detected whilst running down the corridor at the end of the school day
  • so that the same smell years later will trigger the memory (retrieval)
• If the cues at encoding are not available at retrieval then forgetting may happen, for example:
  • I am trying to remember who my sixth-form boyfriend was but I just can't recall his name - without the cue of the red leather jacket the memory (of Bruiser, lovely guy) cannot be retrieved
  • What on earth was that TV programme I loved when I was a pre-schooler? - without the cue of the theme tune the fantastic 'Fun Song Factory' cannot be recalled

Context-dependent forgetting: research support

• Baddeley and Godden (1975) devised an unusual, 'one-of-a-kind' type of experiment (which makes learning much more fun for us, doesn't it?) which investigated the difference between learning and recalling material either on land or underwater:
  • The researchers aimed to investigate whether memory was better for words learned and recalled in the same environment or in different environments (context being land or water)
  • The sample comprised 18 participants (13 males and 5 females) from a university diving club, who were divided into four conditions:
  • 1) learning words on land/recalling on land
  • 2) learning words on land/recalling underwater
  • 3) learning underwater/recalling underwater
  • 4) learning underwater/recalling on land
  • The experiment used a repeated measures design (each participant took part in all four conditions, over four separate days) 
  • The results showed that words learned underwater were better recalled underwater and words learned on land were better recalled on land
  • In short, context is key for retrieval to happen, the flip side of which is that without the right context for retrieval forgetting is more likely

State-dependent forgetting

• Carter & Cassaday (1998) devised (another interesting) experiment on how a person's state (e.g. emotional, drunk, drugged, ill) is a factor in forgetting:
  • The researchers aimed to investigate recall using anti‐histamine drugs i.e. would the sedative (sleepy) effect of the drug be needed for retrieval?
  • Participants learnt a list of words from a text and then recalled the information at a later point
  • There were four conditions:  
  • 1) learning + anti‐histamine/recall + anti‐histamine
  • 2) learning without anti‐histamine/recalling without anti‐histamine
  • 3) learning + anti‐histamine/recalling without anti‐histamine 
  • 4) learning without anti‐histamine/recall + anti‐histamine  
  • The results showed that memory was better when learning and recall state matched (e.g. learning/recalling + anti-histamine); forgetting occurred more when the states did not match (e.g. learning + anti-histamine/recalling without)
  • In short, if the physical/psychological/emotional state someone is in when they learn information is replicated then memory is likely to be better than when the states differ

Evaluation of retrieval failure: cue & state-dependent

Strengths

• The use of experiments with standardised procedures means that research in this field is likely to be reliable
• The theory has good application to school settings e.g. students should sit exams in the same room in which the material was learnt to optimise recall of information

Weaknesses

• The diver participants in Godden & Baddeley's study were exposed to a whole host of cues (e.g. being on a boat, surrounded by other divers, hearing the sounds of the sea, the engine etc.) which means that their findings cannot be said to be a true reflection of the IV's effect on the DV
• There are ethical issues with both studies: diving is a risky sport and people can have adverse reactions to anti-histamine drugs (both of which dangers may have only become apparent during the procedure of each study)