Forgetting - Interference theory Flashcards
what is interference theory?
forgetting in the LTM
when 2 pieces of information conflict with each other, causing one or both memories to be distorted or forgotten
what is forgetting?
when interference makes it harder to locate memories
what is proactive interference?
an old memory interferes with a new one
what is retrospective interference?
when a new memory interferes with an old one
what did Underwood and Postman (1960) study?
divided participants into 2 groups
Group A: learned a list of word pairs (cat-tree) and a second list where the second word was different (cat-glass)
Group B: only learnt the first list
Found Group B had more accurate recall of the first list of words
example of retrospective interference
what did Baddeley and Hitch (1977) study?
interviewed rugby players on their knowledge of what teams played
found players who hadn’t played for a long period of time could recall who had played just as accurately as players who hadn’t played for a short period of time
suggests decay (amount of time) doesn’t affect memory, but intervening games in that time does
what are limitations of research into interference theory?
lab research - artificial lists may reduce participants motivation to learn them
lacks ecological validity and mundane realism
accessibility vs availability (Ceraso)
what did Ceraso (1967) find?
if recall (availability) was tested after 24 hours, performance remained the same
but if recognition of items (accessibility) was tested, memories showed spontaneous recovery
suggests interference occurs because memories cannot be accessed, not because they’re unavailable
what’s re strengths of research into interference theory?
real world applications to advertising (Danaher)
what did Danaher et al (2008) study?
found recall and recognition of an advertisers message was reduced when exposed to two advertisements for competing brands within a week
multiple exposure to an ad on one day may reduce interference and straighten the memory trace