explanations for forgetting - interference

• what are the two explanations for forgetting?

  Interference and retrieval failure
• what are the two types of interference?


  proactive and retroactive
• what is interference?

  forgetting because one memory blocks/interferes with another which distorts one or both of the memories
• what is proactive interference?

  when older memories interfere with new ones
• what is retroactive interference?

  when new memories interfere with older ones
• what was the procedure done by McDonald and Mcgeoch when investigating the effects of similarity on retroactive interference?

  - participants had to learn a list of 10 words until they could recall with 100% accuracy

  - they then learned a new list

  g1: synonyms

  g2: antonyms

  g3: words unrelated to original list

  g4: consonant

  g5: 3 digit number

  g6: no new list / retest the original / control
• what did they find out?

  when recalling the original list, the most similar lists (synonyms) produced the worst recall --> interference is stronger when memories are similar
• why does similarity affect recall (proactive interference)?

  previously stored info makes new similar info more difficult to store
• why does similarity affect recall (retroactive interference)?

  new info overwrites previously stored similar memories because of the similarities
• give one strength for interference as an explanation for forgetting

  EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT REAL WORLD INTERFERENCE:

  - Baddeley + Hitch asked rugby players to recall the teams they had played in a season - some played less games due to injuries

  - players who played the most games (most interference) had the worst recall

  - shows interference can operate in at least some real world situations - increasing the validity of the theory
• give one limitation for interference as an explanation for forgetting

  COUNTERPOINT:

  - interference may cause some forgetting in everyday life but it is unusual as the conditions needed for interference are rare -->the two memories have to be fairly similar in order to interfere with each other meaning it won't happen often in everyday life

  -->suggests forgetting may be better explained by retrieval failure