Schmidt

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

To assess the influence of retroactive interference upon the memory of street names learned during childhood

Question 2

Procedure

Answer 2

700 names were randomly selected from a database of 1700 former students at a Deutsch elementary school. Ppts were sent a questionnaire to complete. 211 ppts responded, ranging in age from 11 to 79 years old. As part of the questionnaire, ppts were given a map of the Molenberg neighbourhood (where they had gone to school) with all 48 street names replaced with numbers. Ppts were asked to remember as many of the street names as possible. The amount of retroactive interference experienced was assessed by the number of times the individual had moved to another neighbourhood or city.

Question 3

Findings

Answer 3

There was a positive association between the number of times ppts had moved house outside the Molenberg neighbourhood and the number of street names they had forgotten.

Question 4

Conclusions

Answer 4

The findings suggested that learning new patterns of street names when moving house makes remembering old patterns of street names harder to do. Retroactive interference does seem able to explain forgetting in some real-life situations.