explanations of forgetting interference Flashcards
What is interference?
An explanation of forgetting where one memory disrupts the ability to recall another. This is usually happens when a memory is similar
What is proactive interference?
Past learning interferes with current attempts at learning something new
What is retroactive interference?
Current attempts of learning something interfere with past learning
Describe a real world study of interference
Baddely and Hitch in 1977 explored interference on Rugby players and their ability to recall the teams they played against in the season
Some members of the team did not play throughout the whole season due to personal injury
The time interval from the start to the end of the season was the same for all players but the number of intervening games was different as some players had missed games
If decay theory is correct the players should have given a similar percentage of answers as time alone is enough for forgetting
They assumed that the players who played in majority of the games would have higher levels of interference and they were correct
Name one evaluation point
Research is artificial:
In the studies, the word lists usually comprised of a number of meaningless syllables or words that do not reflect everyday life
Also participants were more likely to forget the link between studies which would have caused greater levels of interference
This means that these studies have high ecological validity but other studies such as the Baddely and Hitch study suggests that interference is important and current in everyday life
Name a second evaluation point
interference only explains some types of forgetting
A memory needs to be similar in order for a person to forget
This means that this is a poor explanation of forgetting
Anderson in 2000 argued that it is true that interference does lead to forgetting but the extent to which how much forgetting can be attributed to interference is unclear
Name a third evaluation
accessibility vs availability
Corsa 1957 said that if memory was tested again after 24 hours recognition (accessibility) showed spontaneous recovery whereas recall (availability) the same. This suggests that interference occurs because memories are not accessible (temporary)
This supports the idea that interference affects availability
Name a final evaluation point
Kagne and Engle 2000
Kagne and Elle found that participants with a weaker working memory would be susceptible to interference. He studied this after making participants audibly listen to three word lists and found that those with a weaker working memory were more likely to struggle with interference
Name a fifth evaluation point
There are real word applications to advertising, for example Danaher et al 2008 found that both recall and recognition of an advertiser’s message were impaired when participants were exposed to two advertisements for competing brands within a week. They suggest that one strategy might be to enhance the memory trace by running multiple exposures to an advertisement in one day rather than spread these out in a week this results in interference from competitors advertisements. This shows how interference research can help advertisers maximise the effectiveness of their campaigns and target spending more effectively.
