Explanations for forgetting: INTERFERENCE THEORY

Question 1

Interference

Answer 1

when information conflicts with each other
* Takes place when there is too much information
* Forgetting occurs because we can’t gain access to the info even if its available
* Interference is less likely to occur when there is a gap between the instances of learning
* Interference is worse when memories are similar
* There are 2 types: proactive and retroactive

Question 2

Proactive inteference

Answer 2

when older memories interferes with newer ones
* older info pushes out + stops ability to recall new info

Question 3

Retroactive info

Answer 3

when newer memories interferes with older ones
* new memories stop ability to recall + push out older ones

Question 4

Evaluation

Answer 4

+ Tulving
+ McGeoch and McDonald
+High in reliability - but lab experiments
+ Baddeley + Hitch

Question 5

Tulving et al

Answer 5

• Gave their participants 5 lists of 24 words
• Recall was about 70% for the word but this fell as ppts were given an additional list
• Supports interference theory as it suggets that too much information leads to forgetting

Question 6

McGeoth + McDonald

Answer 6

1931- looked into the effects of similarity
* Ppts were asked to learn a list of words to 100% accuracy
* They were then given another list of words to learn
* It was found that if the list had similar material as the originals, ppts performed worse
* However, when they were given very different material in the new list such as numbers, the mean number of items recalled increased
* Its a strength because it implies that similar information leads to forgetting/ interference as the theory suggested

Question 7

High in reliability

Answer 7

• Theory is one of the most consistently demonstrated findings in psychology
• Many lab experiences have been carried out to explain forgetting
• Strength because lab experiments control the effects of extraneous variables and therefore give us the confidence that interference is an internally valid explanation for forgetting

Question 8

Baddeley + Hitch

Answer 8

• Further evidence to support interference
• They asked rugby players to recall the names of teams recently played
• Half of the ppts were experienced, the other half were new
• The experienced players found it more difficult to recall
• Baddeley + Hitch found that recall for the last game was equally good, whether the game was played some time ago or last week, but for some a game 2 months ago would’ve been last week
• Shows that incorrect recall was not due to decay, but was related to the number of intervening games
• Demonstrates that interference is a reason for forgetting in our everyday life
• Baddely also states that unlike other lab experiments, his research with rugby players more reflective of memory in real life + increases the ecological validity of his study

Question 9

Lab experiments

Answer 9

• Using lab experiments to study forgetting means it’s low in ecological validity
• E.g. the word lists do not represent everyday memories because its an artificial task