Explanations For Forgetting: Interference Flashcards
What is interference in the context of memory?
Forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing one or both memories to be distorted or forgotten.
What does interference theory propose?
Interference is a cause of forgetting in LTM where two pieces of information disrupt each other, making them hard to locate
once info reached LTM, it’s more or less permanent so any forgetting is likely due to lack of access.
What are the two types of interference?
- Proactive: old memory interferes with new.
- Retroactive: new memory interferes with old.
Who looked at research on effects on similarity between memories?
McGeoch and McDonald
Argued interference is worse when memories are similar
What was the procedure used by McGeoch and McDonald in their study?
Studied retroactive interference by changing amount of similarity between 2 sets of materials
Participants learned a list of 10 words until 100% accuracy (thru repetition) then learned a new types of lists with varying similarity.
Which group produced the worst recall in McGeoch and McDonald’s study?
Group 1: synonyms.
Split into 6 groups total: synonyms, antonyms, 3 digit numbers, consonant syllables, words unrelated to the originals and a control group (no new list)
What could explain the findings of McGeoch and McDonald?
- Proactive interference: previously stored info makes new similar information difficult to store.
- Retroactive interference: new info overwrites previous similar memories.
What evidence supports the validity of interference in everyday life?
Baddeley and Hitch asked rugby players to recall names of teams played in a season
found players who played the most games had the worst recall showing interference can operate in real world situations increasing validity
What evidence supports retroactive interference?
Coenen and van Luijtelaar made participants learn a list of words under the influence of diazepam, resulting in poor recall a week later compared with placebo
List learned before the drug taken, recall a week later better than placebo - drug improved recall
What did Wixted add onto the evidence of retroactive interference study?
The drug prevents new information from being stored.
What limitations exist regarding interference as a cause of forgetting?
- Interference is unusual.
- Conducted in a lab creating an ideal situation for interference
- Conditions for interference rare in real life.
- 2 memories have to be fairly similar for it to occur
Suggests forgetting may be due to other theories like retrieval failure (lack of cues)
What evidence casts doubt on interference?
As a limitation of interference
Tulving and Psotka gave participants lists of words organized in categories, one list at a time without telling the participants the categories.
Shows interference causes a temporary loss of accessibility to items in the LTM
- Not predicted by interference theory
What was the finding of Tulving and Psotka (1971) regarding interference?
Recall averaged 70% for the first list but decreased with additional lists
When given a cued recall test and told the names of categories, recall rose again to 70%
