Forgetting

• Interference


  Forgetting things because one memory has disrupted or interfered with another memory
• Proactive interference


  When old memories interfere with your ability to form a new one
• Retroactive interference


  A newer memory interferes with an older one
• Baddeley & Hitch (1977)


  • Asked rugby players to recall teams they played that season
  • Recall didn't depend on time, but how many games
  • Players who played fewer game recalled more names
  • Retroactive interference as new info blocks old memories
• Tulving & Psotka (1971) - interference effects are due to the absence of cues


  • More lists pps have to learn, worser the performance
  • But, when pps were given cued recall, they remembered 70% of words
  • Interference causes temporary inability recall material that is in LTM
  • This is AGAINST interference theory
• Coenen & Luijtelaar (1997) - retrograde facilitation


  • Pps given list of words and asked to recall them later
  • When words were learnt under the influence of drug diazepam, recall was poorer
  • When words were learnt before drug, recall was better than placebo
  • Drug improved recall of material learned beforehand
• John Wixted (2004)


  • Suggest that drugs prevent new information reaching parts of brain so can't interfere retroactively
• Retrieval failure


  When info is available but can't access it, happens when there are insufficient cues
• Cues


  A trigger of info that allows us to access memories
• Tulving & Thompson (1973) - specificity principle


  • Memory is most effective is the info that is present or learning if present at the time of retrieval
  • The more cues a person is exposed to, more likely to remember
  • E.g exams should be sat in the room where content was learnt
• Carter and Cassaday (1998)


  • Gave antihistamine drugs to pps
  • Creates a internal state different from normal
  • Pps had to learn lists of words and passages then recall the info

  They discovered when cues are absent, there is more forgetting (e.g. drowsy when learning and alert when recalling)