Explanations for forgetting: interference

Question 1

define interference

Answer 1

forgetting because one memory blocks another causing one or both memories to be distorted or forgotten.

Question 2

when does interference occur

Answer 2

when two memories are similar or conflict with each other

Question 3

what are two types of interference

Answer 3

retroactive and proactive

Question 4

what is retroactive interference?

Answer 4

new info interferes with the old information

Question 5

what is proactive interference

Answer 5

older memories interfere with the new ones

Question 6

who identified retroactive interference? and what did they do?

Answer 6

Georg muller and his students = he gave pps a list of syllables to learn for 6 minutes, after a retention interval he asked pps to recall the list

Question 7

what did he find?

Answer 7

performance went down when pps had an intervening task - the later info interfered with the previously learned info

Question 8

who investigated proactive interference? what dud he find?

Answer 8

Benton underwood - found that the new lists a pp has to learn, the worse the overall recall

Question 9

who investigated the effects of similarity on interference

Answer 9

McGeoch and Mcdonald

Question 10

McGeoch and Mcdonald’s procedure

Answer 10

list of 10 adjectives (list A)< once these were learned they had a resting interval where they learned list B followed by recall

Question 11

what did McGeoch and Mcdonalds’s find and conclude?

Answer 11

List bs synonyms of list a = poor recall
list b nonsense syllables - les effect on recall
list b numbers - least recall (37%)
- interference is stronger when memories are similar

Question 12

real world study - baddeley and hitch - what did they do and find?

Answer 12

asked rugby players to remember names of teams that they have played so far in the current season
- players who played most of the games forgot proportionately more because of interference