I don’t know give us a cue??

1. Why do we forget? I don’t know give us a cue??

2. Possible explanations..either • The information is not available as we have failed to store it …….. Why might this happen? or • It has decayed from our memory or • It is stored somewhere but we cannot find it

3. Cue-dependent forgetting Our main theory of forgetting is known as cue-dependent theory. This theory suggests forgetting is simply an accessibility problem. In other words it is stored somewhere but we cannot find it! The cue-dependent theory of forgetting (Tulving 1975)

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. Thinking like a psychologist Talk to the person behind or in front of you Between you can you come up with a way of finding out if a memory is actually stored even though the person does not know that they have that memory?

8. Tulving came up with a simple but brilliant idea Cue Dependency Experiment 1

9. 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?

10. 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

11. Germany

12. Australia

13. USA

14. Spain

15. Netherlands

16. Greece

17. China

18. Japan

19. Portugal

20. Cues help • Give us a clue….what does it begin with?

21. 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

22. Germany - B

23. Australia - C

24. USA - W

25. Spain - M

26. Netherlands - A

27. Greece - A

28. China - B

29. Japan - T

30. Portugal - L

31. Now check your answers... • Germany – Berlin • Australia - Canberra • USA – Washington DC • Spain – Madrid • Netherlands – Amsterdam • Greece – Athens • China – Beijing • Japan – Tokyo • Portugal - Lisbon

32. Quick test • What type of research method do you think Tulving used for this experiment? • Field Experiment • Lab Experiment • Natural/Quasi Experiment • Questionnaire

33. Answer Lab Experiment

34. AO3 check • Can you identify two problems with using the laboratory experimental method in general ? • Can you identify two problems with this particular experiment?

35. 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

36. 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?

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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 

40. How many words did you recall? • Swap your sheet with your neighbour for marking

41. There were 24 words in total

42. 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

43. 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?

44. From his research • Tulvingwent 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”

45. Practical Applications • How could you use this theory to help patients with dementia? • How could you use this theory to help eyewitnesses recall events?