2.3.1 Interference: Retro and pro active

Question 1

What is interference?

Answer 1

The ways in which information is lost from long-term memory.

Question 2

What are the 2 types of interference?

Answer 2

Retroactive and proactive.

Question 3

Explain retroactive?

Answer 3

This is when new memory interferes with an old memory.

Question 4

Explain proactive?

Answer 4

This is when old memory interferes with a new memory.

Question 5

Research support for interference?

Answer 5

/Postman (1960) - learning items in a second list interfered with participants’ ability to recall the first list i.e. retroactive interference
/Baddeley and Hitch (1977) - rugby players who had played every game were more likely to forget matches: the later games had interfered with a recall of the earlier matches i.e. retroactive interference
/McGeoch and McDonald (1931) - participants who were given synonyms had the worst recall as it was likely the memory for the original list had not been interfered with i.e. interference is more likely to occur when memories are similar

Question 6

Evaluation of research on interference?

Answer 6

/Postman (1960) and McGeoch and McDonald (1931) were carried out in a lab so lack ecological validity but it can be easily replicated
/Baddeley and Hitch (1977) used real situations and memories of actual games so this is high in ecological validity and accounts for time taken between learning
/McGeoch and McDonald (1931) may lack temporal validity (getting on for 100 years old!) and cannot account for the role taken by technology in how we now remember information