Lesson 8: Interference Flashcards
What is forgetting
A persons loss of ability to recall or recognise something they have previously learnt
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 info are similar to one another. Interference is less likely to occur when there is a gap between instances of learning.
Retroactive interference
When new learning affects the recall of old info
E.g. someone driving on the right side of the road after coming back from France
Proactive interference
When old learning affects the recall of new information
E.g. a teacher calls you by a previous students name
Evaluation- underwood (+)
Investigation of proactive interference. He found that people who learned 10 lists of words could only recall 20% of the words from the first list the next day. People who learned 1 list recalled 70% the next day.
Evaluation- McGeoh and McDonald (+)
Investigated retroactive interference, they gave people lists of words that they had to learn until they could recall with 100% accuracy, then they learned a new list- either synonyms or antonyms, people with synonym list- worst recall. Similar meanings = cause of interference.
Evaluation- practical (+)
Students should not revise similar content/subjects at the same time more likelt interference should occur.
Evaluation- temporary (-)
Interference occurs the loss of info may only be temporary, interference is not a true Explaination of forgetting becaysw info is still in LTM
Evaluation- retrieval failure (-)
Psychologists argue that retrieval failurw is a better explanation of forgetting in everyday life than interference. When there are not enough retrieval cues, we tend to forget. Godden and Baddeley got divers to learn and recall words on dry land or underwater, words learnt and recalled in the same context weee recalled better becayseod retrieval cues in the environment to help them remember the words.
