Describe and evaluate at least two theories of forgetting.

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Sarah Andrews.

        Describe and evaluate at least two theories of forgetting .

          [18 marks]

        In this essay I have chosen to look at Freud's motivated theory of forgetting and cue - dependent forgetting. I have chosen these because they both report convincing arguments to try to explain why we forget.

        Freud's motivated theory of forgetting states that the ego represses unpleasant memories into our subconscious in order to avoid anxiety in the event of recall. Freud says that techniques such as dream analysis are the only way to access the repressed memories.

        Herman and Schaton[1987] carried out a study which supports Freud's theory. They found that when questioned, 28% of females affected by incest showed a memory deficit as a child. This is a sign of repression during childhood, to block out any unpleasant memories. This study is complimented by a later study conducted by Myers and Brewin in 1991. They concluded that those who were repressors took significantly longer to recall negative childhood memories. This shows that negative memories were less accessible than positive ones, suggesting a state of repression had occured.

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        Cue - dependant theory of forgetting concerns itself with the accesssibilty of memories using cues. The theory states that recall is enhanced when cues are used. However, the cues need to be relevant to the information. The term given to this is the encoding specifity principle. A study conducted by Tulving and Psotha [1971] compared cue - dependant forgetting with interference theory.

        Participants were given a retroactive interference task [learning information AFTER the material intended for recall]. Once cues for the initial material were presented, retroactive interference no longer played a role in inaccurate recall. A further study by Godden ...

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