Forgetting - interference Flashcards
What is interference?
Forgetting because one memory blocks another
What is proactive interference?
Older memories, already stored, disrupt the recall of newer ones
What is retroactive interference?
Newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories already stored
What is forgetting?
The inability to recall something now that could be recalled in an earlier section
Describe McGeoch and McDonald’s work
6 groups learnt a list of words until they got it at 100%. They were then asked to learn a second set of words from on of the six lists: Synonyms, Antonyms, Words with no relation to the original, Nonsense syllables, 3 digit numbers, No new words - just rested. Participants had to learn a list of adjectives after a delay Three conditions: Did nothing between learning and recall, Learned additional unrelated material, Learned additional adjectives
Describe McGeoch andMcDonald’s findings
They found that most forgetting happened in group 3
What was Underwood and Postman’s aims?
To find out if new learning interferes with previous learning
What did Underwood and Postman do?
Group A learnt a list of word pairs i.e. cat-tree, then learnt a second list of word pairs where the second paired word was different i.e. cat – glass. Group B learnt the first list of word pairs only. Both groups were asked to recall the first list of word pairs.
What were Underwood and Postman’s findings?
Group B’s recall of the first list was more accurate than the recall of group A. This suggests that learning items in the second list interfered with participants’ ability to recall the list.
When does interference occur more?
When the words are similar
