interference

Question 1

define interference

an explanation of forgetting

Answer 1

Interference is where two lots of information become confused in memory → forgetting occurs because memories interfere and disrupt one another

Question 2

proactive interference

Answer 2

• old memories disrupt new memories
  pro = old information moves forward and interferes with retrieval of new information
  e.g. calling your new partner an old partners name

Question 3

retroactive interference

Answer 3

• new memories disrupt old memories
  retro = new information moves backwards and interferes with retrieval of old information
  E.g. a teacher forgetting the name of old students when theres new students

Question 4

when is interference more liklely to occur?

Answer 4

Interference is more likely to occur when the two pieces of information are similar, and this is due to response competition

Question 5

McGeoch and McDonald (1931)

effects of similarity

Answer 5

Gave ppts a list of words to learn, followed by 1 of 6 new lists of words. The second list consisted of either synonyms, antonyms, unrelated, consonant syllables, three-digit numbers, control group (no new list).

● Synonyms produced the worst recall (the most similar material)
● When the Ps were given very different material, such as the three-digit numbers, the mean number of items recalled increased
Conclusions: This shows that interference is strongest when the memories are most similar