Using your whiteboards….
True or False
Question 1
• Interference theory explains forgetting in longterm memory
Question 2
• Retroactive interference occurs when older
memories disrupt newer ones
Question 3
• McGeoch and McDonald found that the more
similar two sets of materials were, the more
forgetting there was.
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Question 4
• Meeting up with your old boyfriend/girlfriend
and accidentally addressing them by the name
of your new boyfriend/girlfriend is an example
of retroactive interference.
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Question 5
Baddeley and Hitch found that:
1. Interference could not explain the forgetting
that occurred in their study.
2. Passage of time was not an important factor in
forgetting.
3. Rugby players who were injured for longer
forgot more team names.
4. Real-life studies of forgetting do not support
interference theory.
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Question 6
• A significant strength of the interference
explanation is that it is based on studies which
use artificial materials.
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Question 7
• Interference causes forgetting because it
means that information in memory is no
longer available.
Question 8
Interference theory states that forgetting occurs
when:
1. One memory pushes another out of the
memory store.
2. There are no triggers to help you recall a
memory.
3. A memory simply disappears over time.
4. One memory disrupts another.
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Forgetting
•retrieval failure due to absence of cues
Cue-dependent forgetting
This theory explains forgetting in the LTM as a retrieval failure: the information is
stored in the LTM but cannot be accessed.
Forgetting according to this theory is due to lack of cues.
Two types of cues:
1. Cues which are linked meaningfully to the information to be remembered.
2. Cues which are not linked meaningfully to the information to be
remembered.
This theory proposes that when we learn the information we also encode the
context (external cues) in which we learn the information and the mental
state we are in (internal cues). These can act as cues to recall.
Context dependent
forgetting
State-dependent forgetting
The cue-dependent theory of
forgetting (Tulving 1975)
The cue-dependent theory of forgetting
applies to long-term memory, not to the
short-term store.
The theory states that forgetting occurs if
the right cues are not available for
memory retrieval.
This suggests that memory depends on
cues being available and that forgetting
occurs when the cues are absent.
The cue-dependent theory suggests that a memory trace can
only be activated if there is a retrieval cue.
Tulving says ‘we remember an event if it has left behind a
trace and if something reminds us of it’.
He defines forgetting as ‘the inability to recall something
now that could be recalled on an earlier occasion’.
For Tulving, forgetting is about the trace being intact but
memory failing because the cognitive environment has
changed – there is no appropriate cue to activate the trace.
This is different from the trace-decay theory of forgetting,
which holds that the trace itself has been lost.
Tulving provided studies as evidence that the cue-dependent
theory of forgetting is the most appropriate
So…Tulving claims that there are two
events necessary for recall:
• A memory trace – information which is
laid down and retained in a store as a
result of the original perception of an event
• A retrieval cue – information present in
the individual’s cognitive environment at
the time of retrieval that matches the
environment at the time of encoding
Cue Dependency
Tulving came
up with a
simple but
brilliant idea
Experiment 1
Ethics...
• This is a mini experiment to look at the
effects of cue-dependency on memory
retrieval
• You have the right to withdraw at any time
• You will not be harmed during this
experiment (physical/psychological)
• You have already signed a prior consent
form 
• Have I forgotten anything?
Instructions
• Next you will see a number of Countries
• Please write down the capital city for each
country
• Do NOT confer
• You MUST conduct this experiment in
silence
• Write number 1..the capital or leave it
blank
• Write number 2..the capital or leave it
blank etc
Germany
Australia
USA
Spain
Netherlands
Greece
China
Japan
Portugal
Cues help
• Give us a clue….what does it begin with?
Instructions
• You will now see the same list of countries
but the first letter of each capital city will
be given to you as a prompt.
• Have another look and see if you can get
any more answers.
• Make sure you note which ones you were
able to get when you had the prompt
Germany - B
Australia - C
USA - W
Spain - M
Netherlands - A
Greece - A
China - B
Japan - T
Portugal - L
Now check your answers...
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Germany – Berlin
Australia - Canberra
USA – Washington DC
Spain – Madrid
Netherlands – Amsterdam
Greece – Athens
China – Beijing
Japan – Tokyo
Portugal - Lisbon
Quick test
• What type of research method do you
think Tulving used for this experiment?
a.Field Experiment
b.Lab Experiment
c.Natural/Quasi Experiment
d.Questionnaire
Answer
AO3 check
• Can you identify two problems with using
the laboratory experimental method in
general ?
• Can you identify two problems with
this particular experiment?
Possible Answers...
• A laboratory is an artificial situation –
people don’t usually have to recall things
under laboratory conditions – therefore
laboratory experiments lack ecological
validity
• There is also a greater risk of demand
characteristics – ppts trying to work out
the purpose of the experiment and
consequently changing the way they
behave
Even with tight control
• There may still be some extraneous
variables which the experimenter did not
control, such as whether a ppt has a
degree in geography which might affect
the results.
This is an example of ppt variables
If all the ppts were geography students what
would be affected?
Reliability or Validity?
• The task itself may lack mundane realism
How often do you have to recall capital
cities in a laboratory for a psychology
experiment?
Although we do rack our brains for
information quite often – quiz shows
Situational variables can be
controlled though!
• List as many situational variables as you
can. These are the things you would try to
keep the same for all participants
• Temperature
• Time of day
• lighting
• Background noise
• Demand characteristics
• Order effects
Classic Experiment
Tulving & Pearlstone (1966)
When I say ‘turn over’, please turn over the
sheet and try to memorise the words on the
word list. You have only one
minute to do this 
How many words did you
recall?
• Swap your sheet with your neighbour for
marking
There were 24 words in total
Fruit
Vegetables Trees
Flowers
Banana
Carrots
Oak
Lily
Apple
Leeks
Beech
Tulip
Orange
Potatoes
Chestnut
Rose
Grape
Aubergines Birch
Daffodil
Melon
Turnip
Bluebell
Palm
I used independent measures
There were 2 different types of word list –
each had the same words and the same
number of words
Can you:
Identify the IV
Identify the DV
Write a one tailed hypothesis
Identify the weakness of the
experimental design
Lets look at our class results
In the category headings condition, ppts
recalled more words than in the randomised
words condition
The category headings act as a form of
‘semantic cue’
Was the difference in the number of words
recalled due to the IV (type of word list)
or was it just due to chance?
From his research
• Tulving went onto develop the cue
dependent theory of forgetting based on
the
encoding specificity principle
“the greater the similarity between the
encoding event and the retrieval
event, the greater the likelihood of recalling
the memory”
Practical Applications
• How could you use this theory to help
patients with dementia?
• How could you use this theory to help
eyewitnesses recall events?
Context-dependent forgetting
Context-dependent forgetting can occur when the environment during recall
is different from the environment you were in when you were learning.
Aim: Godden and Baddeley (1975) investigated the effect of environment on recall.
This study took place in Scotland.
Procedure:
18 divers from a diving club were asked to learn lists of 36 unrelated words of two or
three syllables
4 conditions :
a. Learn on beach recall on beach
b. Learn on beach recall under water
c. Learn under water recall on beach
d. Learn under water recall under water
Results
Conclusion: the results show that the context acted as a cue to recall as the participants
recalled more words when they learnt and recalled the words in the same environment
than when they learnt and recalled the
words in different environments.
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Evaluation
This study has limited ecological validity because
the environment was familiar to the divers but the
task was artificial as we are not usually asked to
learn a list of meaningless words in our everyday
life, meaning that it cant not be G….
However it was a controlled experiment so it can be
replicated so reliability can be tested.
Any ethical considerations?
Another weakness is that the groups who learnt
and recalled in different environments were
disrupted (they had to change environment)
whereas the groups who learnt and recalled in the
same environment were not disrupted. This could
have influenced their recall. Theorfre effecting the
validity??
How could this theory help eyewitnesses recall
events? Can we apply the findings?
This theory is difficult to disprove as if recall does not occur is it because the information is not stored or
because you are not providing the right cue? (circular argument)
•There is further support for the influence of contextual cues. Abernathy (1940) found that students
performed better in tests if the tests took place in the same room as the learning of the material had
taken place, and were administered by the same instructor who had taught the information.
•The studies carried out do not take into account the meaning of the material and the level of motivation
of the person when learning the information, meaning there are limitations
•Real –life applications: This is used as a strategy to improve recall in eye-witness memory when the
witnesses are asked to describe the context in which the incident they have witnessed took place during
cognitive interviews.
•The idea is testable. Cues can be given in experiments to see if they aid recall. Cues are tangible and
measurable. memory trace is not measurable in the same way, neither is interference or displacement
State-dependent forgetting
State-dependent forgetting occurs when your mood or physiological
state during recall is different from the mood you were in when you were
learning.
Goodwin et al. (1969). Forty-eight male medical students participated on day 1 in a
training session and on day 2 in a testing. They were randomly assigned to four
groups.
Group1: (SS) was sober on both days.
Group 2: (AA) was intoxicated both days.
Group 3: (AS) was intoxicated on day 1 and sober on day 2.
Group 4: (SA) was sober on day 1 and intoxicated on day 2.
The intoxicated groups had 111 mg/100 ml alcohol in their blood .They all showed
signs of intoxication.
The Participants had to perform 4 tests: an avoidance task, a verbal rote-learning
task, a word-association test, and a picture recognition task.
Results:
More errors were made on day 2 in the AS and SA condition than in the AA or SS
conditions, however this was not the case for the picture recognition test. The SS
participants performed best in all tasks.
Conclusion: this supports the state-dependent memory theory as the performance
was best in the participants who were
sober or intoxicated on both days.
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Evaluation
•This study has limited ecological
validity because the tasks performed by
the participants were artificial
therefore their performance might not
reflect the way they would perform on
tasks in every day life.
•The participants know that they were
taking part in a study so they might
have changed their behaviour (demand
characteristics) to fit in with the aims of
the study.
•However it was a controlled
experiment so it can be replicated so
reliability can be tested.
• There is further support for the influence of
state-dependent cues. Overton (1964)
experimented on two groups of rats, one
group was given a mild barbiturate the other
group did not get the drug. They were then
placed in a simple maze and taught to escape
an electrical shock. When the group with the
drug were placed back in the maze without
the drug they could not remember how to
escape the shock but if they were given the
drug again they could recall how to escape
the shocks.
•The studies carried out do not take into
account the meaning of the material and the
level of motivation of the person when
learning the information. However a strength
is that animals are not influenced by demand
characteristics.
•Real –life applications:
This is used as a strategy to improve
recall in eye-witness memory when the
This theory is difficult to disprove as if recall
witnesses are asked to describe their
does not occur is it because the information
mood/ emotional state when the
is not stored or because you are not
incident they have witnessed took
providing the right cue? (circular argument)
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place (cognitive interview).
Goodwin extension questions
• First of all, do you think this is a study of context-dependent
forgetting or state-dependent forgetting? Explain your choice.
• Can you outline what you think the four conditions of this study
were? To help you, bear in mind that they follow the same pattern
as other studies you have come across, such as the ones by Godden
and Baddeley (1975) and Baker et al. (2004). Use your knowledge of
those studies to work it out. As in other studies, in two of the
conditions the internal states of learning and recall matched, and in
the other two conditions they did not.
• In which conditions do you think the participants generally
performed worse?
•
Use your knowledge of retrieval failure to explain this finding.
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