L8 - Forgetting: Interference Theory Flashcards
what is FORGETTING?
The term FORGETTING is used to refer to a PERSON’S LOSS OF ABILITY TO RECALL or RECOGNISE SOMETHING that they PREVIOUSLY LEARNT
what is INTERFERENCE THEORY?
INTERFERENCE THEORY claims that FORGETTING OCCURS when TWO LOTS of INFORMATION BECOME CONFUSED IN MEMORY.
INTERFERENCE is MORE LIKELY to occur when the 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
what are the TWO TYPES OF INTERFERENCE?
1) RETROACTIVE INTERFERENCE
2) PROACTIVE INTERFERENCE
what is RETROACTIVE INTERFERENCE?
retro - old, hard to remember this
RETROACTIVE INTERFERENCE is when NEW LEARNING AFFECTS THE RECALL OF OLD INFORMATION
e.g when a teacher is trying to learn names of new students and this causes them to forget previous students
what is PROACTIVE INTERFERENCE? (pro - new, hard to remember this)
PROACTIVE INTERFERENCE is when OLD LEARNING AFFECTS THE RECALL OF NEW INFORMATION
e.g when a teacher is trying to learn the names of their new pupils but keeps getting them confused with previous pupils they’ve taught
+ UNDERWOOD (EVALUATING INTERFERENCE THEORY)
+ UNDERWOOD INVESTIGATED PROACTIVE INTERFERENCE.
He found that pps who LEARNT TEN LISTS OF WORDS could only RECALL 20% OF THE WORDS FROM THE FIRST LIST THE NEXT DAY.
Pps who only learnt ONE LIST OF WORDS RECALLED OVER 70% OF THE WORDS THE NEXT DAY
+ McGEOGH and McDonald (EVALUATING INTERFERENCE THEORY) - PROECEDURE
+ McGEOGH and McDONALD demonstrated RETROACTIVE INTERFERENCE.
They gave pps LISTS OF WORDS that they had to LEARN UNTIL THEY COULD RECALL WITH 100% ACCURACY.
Pps then learned a NEW LIST, this new list was EITHER SYNONYMS (of the original list) or ANTONYMS (of the original list) . Pps were then asked to REMEMBER THE ORIGINAL LIST
+ McGEOGH and McDonald (EVALUATING INTERFERENCE THEORY) - RESULTS
+ pps given the LIST OF SYNONYMS had the WORST RECALL.
Learning the two lists of words that had the SAME MEANING would CAUSE INTERFERENCE
+ PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS (EVALUATING INTERFERENCE THEORY)
+ this theory has PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS.
STUDENTS SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF THIS THEORY so that they do not attempt to REVISE SIMILAR CONTENT AT THE SAME TIME, as this will MAKE INTERFERENCE MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR
- STILL IN LTM (EVALUATING INTERFERENCE THEORY)
- when INTERFERENCE occurs the LOSS OF INFORMATION MAY ONLY BE TEMPORARY, therefore interference is NOT A TRUE EXPLANATION FOR FORGETTING as the information is NOT OVERWRITTEN and is STILL IN LONG TERM MEMORY
- RETRIEVAL FAILURE (EVALUATING INTERFERENCE THEORY)
- some psychologists argue that RETRIEVAL FAILURE is a MUCH BETTER EXPLANATION OF FORGETTING IN EVERYDAY LIFE than interference.
This theory states that we FORGET WHEN THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH RETRIEVAL CUES FOR US TO REMEMBER THE INFORMATION.
- RETRIEVAL FAILURE (EVALUATING INTERFERENCE THEORY) - pt 2 GODDEN AND BADDELEY
- GODDEN AND BADDELEY got DIVERS TO LEARN AND RECALL WORD LISTS on EITHER DRY LAND OR UNDERWATER .
Results showed that WORDS LEARNT AND RECALLLED IN THE SAME CONTEXT were BETTER REMEMBERED as there were RETRIEVAL CUES IN THE ENVIRONMENT to help them remember the words better
