Explanations for Forgetting: Interference Flashcards
1
Q
Outline interference theory
A
2 pieces of information conflicting with each other resulting in forgetting of one or both pieces or distortions of memory
2
Q
What proactive interference?
A
Forgetting occurs when an older memory disrupts the recall of newer memories
3
Q
What is retroactive interference?
A
Forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories
4
Q
Describe the study on retroactive interference (RI)
A
- Muller and Pilzecker gave participants a list of nonsense syllables to learn and, after a retention interval, asked them to recall the lists.
- Performance was worse if they had been given an intervening task between initial learning and recall.
- Intervening task produced RI as the new information has interfered with the old information
5
Q
Describe the study on proactive interference (PI)
A
- Underwood concluded that when participants had to learn a series of word lists, they don’t learn the word lists encountered later in the sequence as well as lists of words earlier on (old information interferes with new)
- Overall, he found if they memorised 10 or more lists, after 24 hours, they recalled about 20% of what they learned, but if they learnt one list, recall was over 70%
6
Q
Describe the study on the effect of similarity of test materials
A
- McGeoch and McDonald gave participants a list of adjectives (A). Once these were learnt there was a resting interval where list B was learned, followed by recall
- If list B was synonyms of list A, recall was 12%. If list B was nonsense syllables, this had less effect (26%), if B was numbers then recall was 37%.
- Shows interference is strongest the more similar the items are. Only interference, not decay, can explain these effects.
7
Q
Give evaluation for interference theory (real world application)
A
- Baddeley and Hitch studied interference effects of rugby players recalling the names of teams they had gone against in a season.
- Some played all games while others missed some due to injury. The time interval was from start to end of the season which was the same for all players but the number of intervening games was different for each player.
- They found that those players who played more games, forgot more, supporting interference theory as the games played were preventing recall.
8
Q
Give evaluation for interference theory (studies are artificial)
A
- Much of the research it’s based on is artificial.
- e.g. McGeoch and McDonald’s have tasks that are artificial and don’t reflect memory tasks in everyday life. We don’t have to remember two separate word lists like adjectives and nonsense syllables, suggesting the tasks may lack mundane realism.
- Also, the nature of the tasks means participants may lack motivation to remember the initial list, as there’s no consequences to forgetting compared to real life. Therefore, forgetting may be exaggerated, calling into question the validity of interference theory.
9
Q
Give evaluation for interference theory (only explains some situation)
A
- The theory only explains some situations of forgetting. e.g., rather special conditions are required like the two memories need to be quite similar, so interference may be unimportant in everyday forgetting.
- Anderson concluded that there’s no doubt that interference plays a role in forgetting, but how much of forgetting is due to interference remains unclear. This means other theories are needed to provide a complete explanation
10
Q
Give evaluation for interference theory (explains temporary)
A
- Interference can explain temporary forgetting, rather than permanent forgetting.
- Tulving and Psotka gave participants lists of words in categories. The categories weren’t explicit but obvious to participants. Recall for the 1st list was 70% but fell as participants were given each additional lists to learn, presumably due to interference.
- However when given a cue, name of the category, recall rose to about 70%. Suggesting interference affects temporary availability.
