Memory - Explanations Of Forgetting (Interference)

Question 1

What is interference?

Answer 1

Forgetting due to one memory blocking another, causing both to be distorted or forgotten

Question 2

Which memory store is interference an explanation for forgetting?

Answer 2

Long term memory

Question 3

What are the 2 types of interference?

Answer 3

Proactive & Retroactive

Question 4

What is Proactive Interference and what would be an example?

Answer 4

When an older memory interferes with a newer one e.g. when a teacher has difficulty remembering names of their current students because they’ve had many in the past

Question 5

What is Retroactive interference?

Answer 5

When a newer memory interferes with an older one e.g. when a teacher has difficulty remembering their past students as they have learned so many new students’ names this year

Question 6

STUDY: What was the procedure of McGeoch & McDonald’s study into retroactive interference?

Answer 6

They studied retroactive interference by changing the amount of similarity between 2 materials. Participants were made to learn a list of 10 words until they could recall them with 100% accuracy and then learned another list out of the six groups

Question 7

STUDY: What were the six groups used in McGeoch & McDonald’s study?

Answer 7

1- synonyms
2- antonyms
3- unrelated words to original ones
4- nonsense syllables
5- 3 digit numbers
6- participants rested

Question 8

STUDY: What were the findings of McGeoch & McDonald’s study into retroactive interference?

Answer 8

When participants had to recall the synonyms, there was the worst recall. This showed that interference is the strongest when the memories are very similar

Question 9

What are some advantages of interference theory?

Answer 9

Evidence from lab studies - thousands of experiments have been carried out into this explanation - shows that there is confidence in saying that interference is an valid explanation for forgetting (experiments are controlled & not subjective)

Question 10

What are some disadvantages of interference theory?

Answer 10

Artificial materials - the stimulus materials were lists of words (although they are more realistic than constant syllables, there is still some distance from things that are remembered in everyday life). This may show more interference in the lab than in everyday life and may not be as likely an explanation of interference in everyday life

Real life studies - Baddeley & Hitch -> asked rugby players to remember the names of the teams they had played so far in that season, week by week. Some players had missed out on games so their ‘last game’ could’ve been 2 weeks ago+. Results showed that accurate recall didn’t matter how much time had passed between games more so how many games that had played in the meantime e.g. a player could recall a match more easily if they had played no other matches in that time. Shows interference is a partial explanation for interference in everyday life

Time between learning - time periods between remembering words & recalling them were very short as participants may not come back if they are sent away. This means a participant could learn 1 list of words and then 20 minutes later another set & recall them both straight after. This means it may not be generalisable to real life situations