Explanations for Forgetting (AQA A Level Psychology): Exam Questions

Describe the procedure used in any one study of forgetting.

Explain, giving a suitable example, what is meant by the encoding specificity principle.

Janis is interested in state-dependent forgetting. She obtains a sample of 15 year-old students from her school: half of them are given cough medicine, which makes them drowsy, while they learn some difficult spellings: the other half of the sample are not given cough medicine while they learn the difficult spellings. Janis asks the students to return a day later to recall the difficult spellings: the first group are given the same cough medicine during the recall phase while the second group are given no cough medicine during the recall phase. Janis reads out each individual’s student’s score on the spelling test to the rest of the participants.

Outline two ethical problems with this research.  

A researcher investigated retrieval failure using an independent groups design.

 In Condition A, 10 participants learnt 30 words and recalled them in the same room.

 In Condition B, another 10 participants learnt the same 30 words in one room and recalled them in a different room.

 The results for Condition B are shown below.

                Table 1 

 The researcher decided to use the mean to analyse the results.

State one advantage of an independent groups design.

Suggest a more appropriate measure of central tendency for this data set and explain why it would be more appropriate.

Aaron was upset as he left the Spanish exam.   In the unfamiliar room and full of nerves, his mind had gone completely blank. He was regretting studying both French and Spanish because he was sure he had mixed up lots of the words.

Outline one explanation of forgetting. How might this explanation account for Aaron’s poor performance in the Spanish exam?

Briefly evaluate the explanation of forgetting you have outlined in your answer to Question 5 (a).

Dr Sayyme has conducted a lab experiment into the effects of similarity on recall. He tested two different groups of participants: one group were given similar words to learn while the other group were given words which were not similar. The participants each received a score out of 20.

Which statistical test would be most suitable to analyse Dr Sayyme’s data in this investigation? With reference to this investigation, explain three reasons for your choice of test.

Regina Phalange has conducted an experiment titled, The effects of similarity on recall of episodes of ‘Friends’. Her work has been published in The Journal of Psychobabble, volume 6, issue number 8, pages 354-361. The year of publication is 2004.

Present the above citation as it would appear in the References section of a psychological report.

Evaluate interference theory as an explanation of forgetting. 

Peter had practised a lot for his piano recital, mostly practising alone in his room. However, once he arrived at the concert hall and started to play in front of the audience, Peter struggled to remember the piece. Instead, he kept playing sections from a different piece of music he had learned for his last recital.

Discuss explanations of forgetting, refer to Peter’s experience in your response.

Natasha had studied a lot for her A-level Drama performance, mostly practising lines from a play alone in her room. However, once on stage in front of her teacher and the examiners, Natasha struggled to remember her lines. Instead, she kept quoting lines from a different play she had once learnt for GCSE.

Discuss retrieval failure and interference as explanations for forgetting. Refer to Natasha’s drama performance in your answer.