The Retrieval Psychology Definition:
In this article we will cover retrieval psychology definition, which is also known as how we jog our memory.
Getting the information out of our heads so we can use it is a pretty important part of memory. There are basically two main types of retrieval; recognition and recall that make up retrieval psychology definition.
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Recognition: is the process of matching a fact or concept with one already in memory. You are given a cue and just have to recognize the right answer. Multiple choice quizzes test your ability to use recognition.
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Recall: coming up with an answer from your memory. Fill in the blanks test your recall.
In most cases, it is easier to retrieve information through recognition, rather than recall.
The way information is presented to us greatly effects our retrieval ability. For example, the primacy effect predicts that we are more likely to recall items presented at the beginning of a list. The recency effect is demonstrated by our ability to recall items at the end of a list. Finally, there is the serial positioning effect, which states that when given a list, we are more likely to retrieve the items at the beginning and end of a list and forget the stuff in the middle.
Context is an important factor in retrieval. Have you ever tried to remember someone’s name and start listing things about their appearance and personality until you finally come up with their name? This temporary inability to remember information is sometimes called the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.
One theory that explains why this might work is the semantic network theory. This theory explains that our brain might form new memories by connecting their meaning and context with meanings already in our memory. Thus, our brain creates a web of interconnected memories, each one in context tied to hundreds or thousands of other memories. So by listing traits, you gradually get closer and closer to the name and you are finally able to retrieve it.
Context also explains another powerful memory experience we all have. Think about where you were when you heard about 9.11. You can probably tell me where you were and what you were doing. Ask your parents what they were doing when the Challenger exploded, when JFK was shot, or during the OJ white Bronco chase.
These flashbulb memories are powerful because the importance of the event caused us to encode the context surrounding the event.
The emotional or situational context of a memory can effect retrieval in yet another way. Studies consistently demonstrate the power of mood congruent theory; which is the idea that you are more likely to recall an item if you are in the same mood when you encoded the item. In other words, if you are in a happy mood, then you will look back on your life and more easily remember all the happy things that have happened to you. Pretend that your dog just died.
That would make you sad and depressed. While you are in that depressed mood you will probably remember the test you failed last week, that guy/girl that cheated on you, a fight you had when you were ten, and ever other sad thing that happened to you.
One last way the context effects retrieval is called state dependent memory. This refers to the idea that you will more likely retrieve information if you are in the emotional of physical state that you encoded it. Pretend that you are studying for a AP Psychology test at school have you have a really bad case of the diarrhea, You don’t want to use the school bathrooms for something that intimate, so you hold it in while studying.
You encode the AP Psychology information while experiencing some bad cramping. The next day when you take the test you do NOT remember the stuff you studied. According to state dependent memory, if you took some EX-LAX and started cramping, you are more likely to recall the information. Think about what this theory would say about your studying habits (studying in bed or with the TV on)?
Now sometimes memories are not real- or sometimes we forget real ones.
Memory Retrieval Problems
There is no perfect system. The same is true of our memory system. There are plenty of issues that can be encountered with our memories. Now that you know the retrieval psychology definition, it’s important to know some of the issues that can come up with it. Here are three very common issues that can occur:
Absentmindedness
This type of memory issue happens when people don’t pay close enough attention to something, and then don’t retain it. Someone might forget where they just put a pen because he didn’t focus on where he put it in the first place. They were thinking of something else (or nothing at all), so their brain didn’t encode the information properly. Absentmindedness also includes forgetting to do something at a specific time.
One way people can sidestep this problem is to recognize things that can help as prompts to remind them to do something. For instance, if the doctor says to take medication at bedtime, a person might use another regular bedtime exercise as a reminder prompt. In this situation, for instance, a woman could mentally associate brushing her teeth with taking medication. Likewise, if a man wants to take vitamins at breakfast, he could make a habit of placing the bottle beside his coffee cup at the table so it provides a signal when he sits down to eat.
Blocking
This refers to the occurrence in which the answer is directly on the tip of your tongue — but you just can’t think of it. This tip-of-the-tongue encounter is perhaps the most familiar example of blocking, the momentary inability to retrieve a memory. Blocking doesn’t happen because you aren’t paying attention or because the memory has dissolved away. It is the opposite: blocking occurs when a memory is properly stored in your brain, but something is hindering you from retrieving it.
In many cases, people retrieve the faulty memory — one that is similar to the wanted one. This competing memory is so interfering that they can’t think of the memory they want to remember. A common case is a mother who calls her older son by a younger son’s name or the other way around. Scientists call blocking memories the “ugly stepsisters” because they’re overbearing, like the stepsisters in the fairytale Cinderella.
Brain-imaging studies suggest how blocking might happen. When a person is retrieving a memory, there are some areas of the brain that become more active while others concurrently become less active. When the right areas are activated, this can work in a person’s service by keeping the brain from stirring up unnecessary information. But when the person calls up an ugly stepsister memory by mistake, the brain may simultaneously defeat the regions needed to retrieve the desired memory.
Researchers do not know whether memory blocks show the overall slowing of memory retrieval that happens with age or if they transpire for some other reason. Regardless, there’s encouraging news: research shows that people are able to recover about half of blocked memories within moments.
Transience
Memory has a use-it-or-lose-it type quality. People are likely to retain memories they call to the front and use frequently. The memories that are not retrieved as often tend to fade away.
Transience is the term scientists have used to describe the ability to forget some facts or events over periods of time. Although this term might seem like a sign of memory weakness, brain scientists consider it a benefit because it clears the brain of unused memories and makes way for more useful ones.
Everyone faces transience of memory. People are most likely to forget information shortly after they learn it — especially if they don’t need to use it again.
Final Thoughts on Retrieval
Knowing how memory retrieval works is an essential part of understanding psychology. There are so many reasons memory may not be retrieved, and there are also so many details that go into memory being retrieved. We hope this article helped you dive deeper into the retrieval psychology definition.
