Explanations of forgetting: Interference

Question 1

Interference theory

Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Answer 1

Interference occurs when 2 pieces of into disrupt each other, resulting in forgetting of one or both (or distortion of memory)
Proposed as explanation for forgetting in LTM
Once info has reached LTM its permenant
Therefore, any forgetting of LTMs is most likely because we can’t get access to them, even though they’re avaliable
Interference between mems makes it harder for us to locate them & this is experience as ‘forgetting’

Question 2

Proactive interference

Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Answer 2

Occurs when older mem interferes w/ newer mem

Question 3

Retroactive interference

Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Answer 3

Occurs when newer mem interferes w/ older mem

Question 4

McGeoch & McDonald procedure

Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Answer 4

Studied retroactive interference by changing amount of similarity between 2 sets of materials
Ppts had to learn list of 10 words until they could remember them w/ 100% accuracy
They then leard new list
Group 1 - synonyms
Group 2 - antonyms
Group 3 - words unrelated to OGs
Group 4 - consonant syllables
Group 5 - 3-digit numbers
Group 6 - no new list (CG)

Question 5

McGeoch & McDonald findings & conclusions

Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Answer 5

When ppts asked to recall OG list of words, synonyms produced worst recall
Shows that interference is strongest when mems are similar

Question 6

Explanation of effects of similarity

Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Answer 6

Reason similarity affects recall could be due to Proactive interference - previously stored infor makes new similar info difficult to store
Or due to Retroactive - new info overwrites previous similar mems because of similarity

Question 7

Evaluation: Real-world interference

Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Answer 7

Strength: evidence of interference in everyday situations
Baddeley & Hitch asked rugby players to recall names of teams they’d played against during a ruby season
Players all played for same time interval but number of intervening games varied because some players missed matches due to injury
Players who played most games had poorest recall
Therefore, interference can operate in some real-world situations, increasing validity of theory

Question 8

Evaluation: Real-world interference (Counterpoint)

Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Answer 8

However, interference in the everyday is unusual
This is because conditions necessary for interference to occur are relatively rare
This is unlike lab studies, where high degree of control means researcher can create ideal conditions for interference
E.g. two memories have to be fairly similar in order to interfere w/ each other
This may happen occasionally in everyday life but not often
Therefore, most forgetting may be tter explained by other theories such as retrival failure due to lack of cues

Question 9

Evaluation: Interference & cues

Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Answer 9

Limit: interference is temporary & can be overcome by using cues
Tulving & Psotka gave ppts lists of words organised into catergories, one list at a time
Recall averaged about 70% for first list but became progessively worse as ppts learned each additional list (proactive interference)
But had words really disappeared from LTM?
At end of procedure ppts were given cued recall test - told names of catergories
Recall rose again to about 70%
Therefore, interference causes temporary loss of accessibility to materiel that is still in LTM, a finding not predicted by interference theory

Question 10

Evaluation: Support from drug studies

Explanations for forgetting: Interference

Answer 10

Coenan & Van Luijtelaar gave ppts list of words & later asked them to recall list, assuming intervening experiences would act as interference
Found that when list of words was learned under influence of drug diazepam, recall one week later was poor (compared to placebo group)
When list was learned before drug was taken, later recall was better than placebo
Drug actually improved recall of material learned beforehand
Wixted suggests that drug prevents new info reaching parts of brain involved in processing mems, so it cannot interfere retroactively w/ info already stored
Therefore, finding shows that forgetting can be due to interference - reduce the interference & you reduce the forgetting