Explanations for forgetting: Interference Flashcards
What is interference?
When one memory disrupts the ability to recall another memory
What are the 2 types of interference?
Proactive interference and retroactive interference
What is proactive interference?
When past learning interferes with current attempts to learn something
What is retroactive interference?
When current learning interferes with past learning
What increases the chance of interference?
If current and past information is similar
What type of athletes did Baddeley and Hitch conduct an interference study on?
Rugby players
What was Baddeley and Hitch’s interference task?
Asking rugby players to recall the names of the rival teams they played in a rugby season
What was the independent variable in Baddeley and Hitch’s interference study?
How many games the players had played in
What did Baddeley and Hitch find in their interference study?
The players who played more games forgot more of the rival team names
What did McGeoch and McDonald find?
Out of 6 groups who learnt an original list of words and then another word list (synonyms, antonyms etc.), those who recalled synonyms performed the worst
What are the 4 interference AO3 points?
1) Supporting research from McGeoch + McDonald
2) Criticism of McGeoch + McDonald’s study
3) Advertisment RWA
4) Individual differences
How long was the gap between learning word lists in McGeoch and McDonald’s study?
10-20 minutes
What does McGeoch and McDonald’s study lack?
Mundane realism
Why is McGeoch and McDonald’s study unrealistic?
Because the time between learning and recall is usually much greater than 20 minutes
What does the use of a lab study in McGeoch and McDonald’s study exaggerate?
The presence of interference
Who conducted a study on advertisement and interference?
Danahar
What did Danahar find?
That participants recall and recognition of an advertiser’s message was impaired when exposed to 2 adverts from competing brands within a week
How did interference theory help advertisers?
Suggests that having adverts shown multiple times in a shorter time frame enhances memory
Who studied the role of individual differences in interference theory?
Kane and Engle
What was the ‘individual difference’ in Kane and Engle’s study?
Whether their working memory span was good or bad
How many word lists were Kane and Engle’s particpants given?
3
In Kane and Engle’s study, which participants experienced higher levels of proactive interference?
Those with a poor WM span
