Inteference Flashcards
what is retroactive interference and who studied it?
When new info affects ability to recall older info.
Muller gave p/p’s lists of syllables to remember. In one condition, the p/ps were then given a interference task (describing photos). it was found that in this condition, recall of syllables was lower because the interference task had affected their old learning (i.e. the words)
what is proactive interference and who studied it?
when old info interferes with ability to recall new info .
Underwood analysised findings from a number of studies of forgetting. He found that if p/ps had learnt a list of 15+ words during the same experiment, the next day their recall was about 20%. If p/ps hadn’t learnt any words, their recall was 80%. Underwood concluded that proactive interference from old lists affected the p/ps ability to remember new ones
What is the effect of similarity of test material?
McGeogh and McDonald tested the effects of similarity of test materials. Gave p/p’s a list of 10 adjectives (list A). Once learnt, there was a resting interval of 10 mins & then new list (b) was given to p/ps to learn.
If list B was synonyms of A- 12% recall
if list B was nonsense syllables- 26% recall
if list B was numbers- 37% recall.
Shows interference is stronger the more similar the items are
what is a limitation of interference? (artificial)
supporting research is lab based and uses artificial lists of words/syllables- doesn’t accurately reflect every day memory activity. Furthermore, some p/ps lack motivation to remember the links in such studies and so effects of interference appear stronger than they actually are. Low ecological validity
what is a limitation of interference? (not fully explain)
Interference effects do not account for all types of forgetting. special conditions are required- the two memories need to be quite similar; it is considered to be an unimportant explanation for every day forgetting. How much forgetting can be attributed to interference is unclear.
