Memory: Interference Theory

Question 1

What is interference

Answer 1

Forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing one or both memories to be distorted or forgotten.

Question 2

What are the types of interference

Answer 2

Proactive interference

Retroactive interference

Question 3

What is proactive interference

Answer 3

Forgetting occurs when older memories, already stored, disrupt the recall of newer memories. The degree of forgetting is greater when the memories are similar

Question 4

What is retroactive interference

Answer 4

Forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories already stored. The degree of forgetting is greater when the memories are similar

Question 5

Give an example of proactive and retroactive interference

Answer 5

Proactive - a teacher can not remember new names because she has previously learned too many

Retroactive - a teacher forgets the names of her previous students because she has remembered the names of her new class

Question 6

Explain the procedure of the McGeoch + McDonald (1931) study

Answer 6

Studied retroactive interference
Having participants learned a word list until they could recall with 100% accuracy

Participants then asked to learn a second list.
Six groups of participant who learned a different type of second list:
1.synonyms
2.antonyms
3. Unrelated words
4. Nonsense syllables
5. Three digit numbers
6. No list just rest
Participants were then asked to recall the original list

Question 7

What were the findings of the McGeoch and McDonald study

Answer 7

Performance of recall depended on the nature of the second list.
The most similar material synonyms produced the worst recall.
Interference is strongest when the memories are similar.

Question 8

What is a strength for evaluating explanations for forgetting (lab studies)

Answer 8

A strength of forgetting due to inference is that most of most of the studies carried out for this explanation use lab experiments.

For example McGeoch and mcdonalds study was also a lab experiment. Most of these studies show that both types of interference are likely to be common ways we forget information from the LTM.

This is a strength because lab experiments controls the effects of irrelevant variables which show us that inference is valid explanation

Question 9

What is a limitation of interference (artificial material)

Answer 9

Most studies are artificial.
For example
Most of the stimulus material that needs to be remembered is lists of words.
Quite different to things we learn in everyday life like peoples faces.
Shows
Studies cant be generalised to everyday life as inference is more likely to occur in a lab than real lifei

Question 10

What is another strength of inference as explanation for forgetting ? (Baddeley)

Answer 10

Strength
Also research conducted outside laboratory that supports interference as ana explanation for forgetting

Eg Baddeley and hitch (1977) asked rugby players to try and remember the names of the teams they had played so far that season, week by week.
Some players missed games and last game played was weeks ago.

Results showed that accurate recall was not depended on how long ago the matches were played but did depend on how many games they played in the meantime

Inference explanation can apply to some everyday situations