Forgetting: Retrieval Failure

While interference theory explains forgetting as a result of memories disrupting each other, retrieval failure theory offers a different explanation. It proposes that forgetting occurs not because the memory has been lost, but because the right cue (trigger) is not available to access it. The memory is still stored in LTM but cannot be retrieved.

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What is Retrieval Failure?

Retrieval failure is the failure to recall information that is stored in memory, due to the absence of appropriate cues. A cue is any stimulus that is associated with the memory and can trigger its recall.

Think of it like a filing cabinet: the information is filed away correctly, but you have lost the label that tells you which drawer to look in. The memory is there, but you cannot find it without the right cue.

This is why you might forget something in one situation but remember it perfectly in another — the cues present in the second situation trigger the memory.

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The Encoding Specificity Principle