Memory: Forgetting - Interference

Question 1

What is forgetting?

Answer 1

the inability to recall previously learnt information

Question 2

What is interference in the context of memory?

Answer 2

an explanation for forgetting where one memory prevents the retrieval of another memory because the memories get confused with each other during encoding

Question 3

What are the two types of interference?

Answer 3

• proactive
• retroactive

Question 4

What is proactive interference?

Answer 4

when old memories interfere with new memories - forgetting new
(old towards new is going forward - pro means forward)

Question 5

Give an example of proactive interference:

Answer 5

forgetting the names of new friends because they keep getting mixed up with the names of old friends

Question 6

What is retroactive interference?

Answer 6

when new memories interfere with old memories - forgetting old
(new towards old is going backwards - retro means backwards)

Question 7

Give an example of retroactive interference:

Answer 7

forgetting previously learnt phone numbers due to mixing them up with newly learn phone numbers

Question 8

What is the effect of similarity on interference?

Answer 8

• interference is strongest when memories are most similar
• this is because LTM codes semantically, so similar memories are more likely to be mixed up

Question 9

What are we evaluating?

Answer 9

whether or not interference causes forgetting

Question 10

Strength of interference: Baddeley and Hitch - rugby players

Answer 10

• research support
• rugby players were asked to recall names of teams they had played against over one season
• players who had played in the most games had the worst recall
• the researchers found that the more recent games had interfered with recall of the earlier games, which is retroactive interference
• this supports the theory that interference can cause forgetting
• ext: this study had high ecological validity because they used real rugby players recalling real games, so it is likely that memory works the same way in real life

Question 11

Weakness of interference: lab experiments

Answer 11

• much of the research used for studying interference is lab-based using artificial tasks
• for example, McGeoch and Mcdonald asked participants to recall word lists, which is not an everyday task
• this means there is low mundane realism as the tasks are not similar to those found in everyday life
• additionally, due to the artificial setting of such studies, the conclusions cannot reflect real life, so the research has low ecological validity

Question 12

Strength of interference: broader, real world context

Answer 12

• the theory of interference can be used to explain why it is more difficult to learn a language (e.g. French) if a previous language has been learnt (e.g. German)
• it also explains why information from similar topics can be mixed up (e.g. dates from British history being mixed up with dates from American history)
• this shows that the theory has high external validity, as the findings from studies can be generalised to a broader real world context
• count: however, interference does not happen often, as there are conditions that must be met for interference to occur, such as the memories being very similar. this does not explain why we forget information that is not similar at all, so interference cannot be the only explanation for forgetting