Interference Flashcards
Define Interference
Interference is when two pieces of similar information disrupt eachother.
What can interference lead to
Interference can lead to forgetting in one or both pieces of information, or distort the information. This is most likely to lead to the forgetting of the LTM.
What are the two types of interference
Retroactive and Proactive interference
Define retroactive interference
When new information interferes with old information
Define Proactive interference
When old informations interferes with new information
McGeoch and McDonald (1931) conducted a study on interference. Explain their study
P’s learned a list of 10 words, then learnt 10 other words that were similar, there were 6 groups of p’s.
What where the 6 groups in McGeoch and McDonalds (1931) experiment
G1: synonyms
G2: Antonyms
G3: Unrelated
G4: Consonant Syllables
G5: Three-digit numbers
G6: No new list (Control Group)
What where McGeoch and McDonald’s (1931) findings.
They found that when there was no change recall was the highest and synonyms was the worst group for recall. This supports the theory of retroactive interference as it’s showing that new information interferes with old information.
Give one supporting piece of research for interference
Baddeley’s and Hitch’s (1977) experiment.
Explain Baddeley and Hitch’s (1977) experiment on interference
Rugby players had to recall names of teams they had played against. They all played for the same time period (one season). However, some players missed matches due to injury.
What were Baddeley and Hitch’s (1977) findings on interference
They found that the recall of the names was worse in those who had played more matches, this tests pro-interference. It also increased the validity showing how it works in real life.
What a strength on the theory of interference
interference is applicable as its useful in real life scenarios
Tulving (1971) did research to provide a limitation on interference, explain his experiment
lists of words were categorised. P’s had to recall one list at a time.
What where Tulving’s (1971) findings on interference
recall of the first list was 70%, but worsened over time. However, when participants where given the names of the categories (cued recall) recall increased to 70%
Explain how Tulving’s (1971) study is a limitation of interference
It shows that interference is temporary and can be overcome by hints.
What is a limitation of Tulving’s (1971) study on interference
His research is Lab based and is an artificial task, therefore it lacks ecological validity
