Explainations For Forgetting: Interference Flashcards
what is retroactive interference?
attempts to learn something new interfere with past learning
how was retroactive interference discovered?
Muller gave participants a list of nonsense syllables to learn for 6 minutes and then after a retention interval (describing pictures of landscapes) had to recall the list of words. Performance was worse if participants have an intervening task between initial learning and recall.
what is proactive interference?
past learning interferes with new learning
how was proactive interference discovered?
Underwood analysed the findings of multiple studies and found when participants had memorised 10+ lists after 24 hrs there would be only 20% recall compared to participants with only 1 list which had a recall of 70% after 24hrs
what was the real-world study done to test interference?
Baddley and Hitch had a team of rugby players recall a list of teams they competed agains over the season. Some players played in all of the games and some had missed games due to injury. The time interval throughout the season is the same for all players but the number of games was different for each player. If the theory is correct then all players should recall a similar % as time alone does not cause forgetting.
why is the methodology of this theory a concern?
artificial list of words have been used to test theory therefore the findings don’t reflect everyday life. This could also mean pets lack motivation to try and recall words as it does not relate to them in anyway.
what is another criticism of interference?
interference effects occur in everyday life but not often due to the conditions needed for this to occur, therefore interference alone cannot be an explanation for forgetting.
how does real world application support the theory of interference effects?
researchers have found that the recall and recognition of advertisements where impaired when pets where exposed to two advertisements of competing brands within a week. Suggest that a strategy to enhance memory isbn running something over a long period of time and therefore helping advertisers.
