Explanations For Forgetting: interference

Question 1

What does the interference theory consist of?

Answer 1

Types of interference

Effects of similarity

Question 2

The two types of interference

Answer 2

Proactive

Retroactive

Question 3

What are the effects of similarity

Answer 3

McGeoch and McDonald studied retroactive interference by changing amount of similarity between 2 sets of materials. P’s learnt list until 100% accurate then learnt new one:
Most similar material between the two lists produced the worst recall= interference strongest when memories similar

Question 4

Evaluation

Answer 4

Evidence from lab studies- control effects of irrelevant influences
Artificial materials- interference more likely to happen in a lab
Time between learning- limitation as probably will be short so participants don’t get bored and leave

Question 5

What is interference?

Answer 5

One memory blocks another

Question 6

Proactive interference

Answer 6

Forgetting occurs when older memories that are already stored disrupt the recall of newer memories.

Question 7

Retroactive interference

Answer 7

Forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt recall of older memories already stored.