Interference

Question 1

What is interference?

Answer 1

An explanation of forgetting

Question 2

What are the two types of interference?

Answer 2

Proactive and Retroactive

Question 3

What is proactive interference?

Answer 3

When an older memory disrupts a new memory. For example, a teacher has learnt a lot of names in the past and can’t remember her current class.

Question 4

What is retroactive interference?

Answer 4

When a newer memory disrupts an older one. For example, a teacher learns many new names this year and can’t remember the names of her current students.

Question 5

When is interference most likely to happen?

Answer 5

When the two memories have some similarity

Question 6

What happens when interference occurs?

Answer 6

One memory disrupts the ability to recall another. Information in the memories can be forgotten or distorted.

Question 7

Is interference mainly an explanation for forgetting in LTM or STM?

Answer 7

Long-term memory

Question 8

What two key studies researched interference and the effects of similarity?

Answer 8

1. McGeoch and McDonald (1931)
2. Schmidt et al (2000)

Question 9

Describe the McGeoch and McDonald study

Answer 9

Participants were asked to learn a list of words to 100% accuracy (learn them perfectly). Once they had successfully learnt it, they were given a new list to learn. The new material varied in the degree to which it was similar to the old.

Question 10

Describe the 6 groups that recieved new lists in the McGeoch and McDonal study

Answer 10

Group 1 - words had the same meanings as the original
Group 2 - words had opposite meaning to the originals
Group 3 - words were unrelated to the orinals
Group 4 - nonsense syllables
Group 5 - three digit numbers
Group 6 - no new list (control group)

Question 11

What were the results of the McGeoch and McDonald study?

Answer 11

Performance depended on the nature of the second list. The most similar material (synonyms) produced the worst recall. When the participants were given very different material (like three digit numbers) the mean number of items recalled increased.

Question 12

What was the conclusion of the McGeoch and McDonald study?

Answer 12

Interference was strongest when the memories are similar
In group 1 it is likely that the words with the same meanings as the original list blocked access or that the new material became confused with the old material.

Question 13

What was the aim of Schmidt’s study?

Answer 13

To assess the influence of retroactive interference upon the memory of street names learned during childhood.

Question 14

Give Schmidt’s study’s procedure

Answer 14

700 names were randomly selected from a database of former students at a German school. The participants were sent a questionnaire to complete. As part of the questionnaire, participants were given a map of the Molenberg neighbourhood (where they had gone to school) with all 48 surrounding street names replaced with numbers. Other details collected included; how many times they had moved house, where they had lived/ for how long, how often they visited Molenburg. The amount of retroactive interference experienced was assessed by the number of times the individual had moved to another neighbourhood

Question 15

What were Schmidt’s findings?

Answer 15

There was a positive association (correlation) between the number of times participants had moved house outside the Molenberg neighborhood and the number of street names they had forgotten.

Question 16

What were Schmidt’s conclusions?

Answer 16

The findings suggested that learning new patterns of street names when moving house makes remembering old patterns of street names harder to do. Retroactive interference does seem able to explain forgetting in some real-life situations.

Question 17

Give 2 strengths of interference

Answer 17

1. Real life studies - Baddeley and Hitch (1977) asked rugby players to recall the names of teams they had played so far that season - week by week. Accurate recall did not depend on how long ago the match took place. More important was the number of games played in the meantime. Players who played the most games (most interference for memory) had the poorest recall. Validity of the theory is increased.
2. Lab studies - There have been many lab studies investigating interference. The majority of these studies show that both types of interference are likely causes of forgetting from LTM. Lab experiments control the effects of extraneous variables = interference is a valid explanation.

Question 18

Give 2 limitations of interference

Answer 18

1. Artificial stimuli used - Stimulus used is often a word list which is more realistic than syllables but it is still different from how we remember in real-life. We learn people’s faces, their birthdays etc. The use of artificial materials make interference much more likely in the labs but might not be the cause of ‘everyday’ forgetting.
2. Time allowed between learning - In lab research, the time periods between learning/ recalling lists is quite short (usually 20 mins). This does not reflect the whole experience of learning in real life. Because of this, research into forgetting in LTM may not generalise outside the lab