Memory - Interference Flashcards
What is interference?
Interference is when the recall of one memory blocks the recall of another, causing forgetting or distorted perceptions of these memories.
What are the two types of interference?
- Retroactive interference
- Proactive interference
What is retroactive interference?
Retroactive interference occurs when new memories block the recollection of old memories.
What is proactive interference?
Proactive interference occurs when old memories block the recollection of new memories.
Which study demonstrated retroactive interference?
The study by McGeoch and McDonald (1931) demonstrated retroactive interference.
How many groups did McGeoch and McDonald divide participants into for their study?
Participants were divided into 6 groups.
What types of lists were participants in the McGeoch and McDonald study asked to recall?
- Synonyms
- Antonyms
- Words unrelated to the original list
- 3 digit numbers
- Consonant syllables
- No new list (control group)
How many fewer correct items did participants who learned the synonyms list recall on average compared to the control group? (McGeouh and McDonald)
Participants recalled an average of 3.1 fewer correct items.
What is the correlation between similarity of memories and forgetting?
There is a positive correlation between forgetting and similarity.
2 limitations of research into interference as an explanation for forgetting.
The artificial stimuli used in these tasks, such as learning lists of random words with no personal meaning to the participants, means that the findings of interference studies are likely to have low mundane realism. This is because in real life, we are likely to learn lists of meaningful information, such as revision topics for psychology, which we draw links upon and also which have personal meaning to us. These factors may also influence the extent of forgetting, rather than influence.
A second methodological criticism of interference studies, further suggesting that they lack mundane realism and reliability, is that they are often conducted in very short spaces of time, with participants recalling their words 1 or 2 hours after they have learnt them. This does not reflect the normal passage of time in everyday life, where we often find that several days pass until we need to recall such information e.g. in the case of an exam. Therefore, this suggests that interference is unlikely to be a valid explanation for forgetting from the LTM.
