interference theory Flashcards
What is interference in the context of memory?
Forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing one or both memories to be distorted or forgotten.
What is proactive interference?
Forgetting occurs when older memories, already stored, disrupt the recall of newer memories. The degree of forgetting is greater when the memories are similar.
What is retroactive interference?
Forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories, already stored. The degree of forgetting is greater when the memories are similar.
What does interference theory explain?
Interference theory explains that forgetting in long-term memory occurs when information that is similar in format gets in the way of the information that someone is trying to recall.
What is an example of proactive interference?
An example would be calling your current boyfriend/girlfriend by the name of your ex-boyfriend/girlfriend. The newer information is therefore ‘forgotten’.
What is an example of retroactive interference?
An example would be not being able to remember your old postcode because all you can think about is your new postcode. The older information is therefore ‘forgotten’.
What was the aim of McGeoch and McDonald’s (1931) study?
To investigate whether the similarity of memories influences recall.
What procedure did participants follow in McGeoch and McDonald’s study?
Participants learned a list of 10 words until they could remember them with 100% accuracy, then learned another list of words.
What were the different groups in McGeoch and McDonald’s study?
Group 1 = synonyms, Group 2 = antonyms, Group 3 = unrelated words, Group 4 = non-sense syllables, Group 5 = 3-digit numbers, Group 6 = no new list.
What was the conclusion of McGeoch and McDonald’s study?
Recall of the original list was dependent on the nature of the second list; the most similar material produced the worst recall.
What does the study by Schmidt et al. (2000) support?
It supports the evidence for retroactive interference in memory recall.
What was the method used by Schmidt et al. (2000)?
Participants recalled street names from childhood after being given a map with street names replaced by numbers.
What was the finding of Schmidt et al. (2000)?
There was a positive association between the number of times individuals had moved and the number of street names forgotten.
What did Baddeley and Hitch (1977) investigate?
They investigated whether interference was a better explanation for forgetting than the passage of time.
What was the finding of Baddeley and Hitch (1977)?
Forgetting was due to the number of games played, rather than how much time had passed between games.
What conclusion did Baddeley and Hitch (1977) reach?
They concluded that forgetting was a result of retroactive interference, as new information interfered with old information.
What role does sleep play in memory?
Sleep helps to strengthen memories and make them less vulnerable to interference.
What did Abel and Baum (2013) find regarding sleep and interference?
They found that 12 hours of sleep reduced both proactive and retroactive interference compared to a control group who remained awake for 12 hours.
What practical application can be derived from the findings on sleep and memory?
Students could be encouraged to get enough sleep to aid recall of information.
How can interference effects be overcome?
Interference effects may be overcome by using cues.
What did Tulving and Psotka (1971) demonstrate about category cues?
They showed that when participants were told the names of categories, recall rose again to about 70% after experiencing interference.
What limitation does interference theory have?
Interference theory cannot explain all examples of forgetting, as it is too simplistic to account for complex phenomena.
What is a limitation of research into interference?
Research tends to be in lab conditions based on artificial tasks, limiting external validity.
How are interference studies typically designed?
They are designed to cause the maximum amount of interference and thus forgetting, such as learning one list of words and then a second list shortly after.
