Interference Theory Flashcards
1
Q
Define forgetting
A
Used to refer to a persons loss of ability to recall or recognise something that they have previously learned
2
Q
What is Interference Theory?
A
- Claims that forgetting occurs when two lots of information become confused in memory
- More likely to occur when two lots of information are similar to one another
- Interference is less likely to occur when there is a gap between the instances of learning
3
Q
What is Retroactive Interference?
A
When new learning affects the recall of old information
4
Q
What is Proactive Interference?
A
When old learning affects the recall of new information
5
Q
Strengths of Interference - proactive
A
- Participants who learned 10 lists of words could only recall 20% of words from the first list the next day
- PP’s who only learned one list of words recalled over 70% of words the next day
- This supports proactive interference
6
Q
Strengths of Interference - retroactive
A
- Gave pp’s lists of words they had to learn until they could recall with 100% accuracy
- pp’s then learned a new list, either synonyms or antonyms
- pp’s were then asked to remember the original list
- pp’s who had the list of synonyms had the worst recall, the two list of similar words had caused interference
7
Q
Strengths - practical application
A
students should be taught this to not revise similar topics at the same time as it makes interference more likely to occur
8
Q
Weaknesses
A
- Interference causes temporary memory loss, therefore it is not a true explanation of forgetting, information is not actually over-written and still remains in the LTM
- Some argue retrieval failure is a much better explanation of forgetting in everyday life
- The theory states that we forget without retrieval cues to help us remember
- Godden and Baddeley got divers to learn and recall lists on either dry land or underwater
- Words learnt and recalled in the same context were better remembered as there were retrieval cues in the environment
