Interference

• What is interference?

  When two pieces of information disrupt each other
• Why do we forget according to the interference theory?

  Forgetting occurs in our LTM because we cant get access to memories even though they are available
• What is proactive interference?

  Occurs when an older memory disrupts a newer one
• What is retroactive interference?

  When a newer memory disrupts an older one
• Why is interference worse when memories are similar?

  • In Proactive interference previously stored information makes new information difficult to store
  • In Retroactive interference new information overwrites previous memories which are similar
• What was McGavock and McDonalds effects of similarity research procedure?

  Participants asked to learn a list of words to 100% accuracy then they were given a new list to learn, the new material varied in similarity

  • Group 1 - synonyms
  • Group 2 - antonyms
  • Group 3 - unrelated
  • Group 4 - consonant syllables
  • Group 5 - three digit numbers
  • Group 6 - retested Control group
• What were McGeoch and McDonalds findings?

  Performance depended on the nature of the second word list, the most similar material (synonyms) performed the worst.
• What is the conclusion from McGeoch and McDonalds experiment?

  Interference is strongest when the memories are similar
• Strengths of Interference explanation:

  Research Support - Baddeley and Hitch asked rugby players to recall the names of teams they had played against. Those who had played the most in the season had the worst recall. Shows how interference operates in some everyday situations - increasing the validity of the theory
• Limitations of the interference explanation:

  May be overcome using cues - Tulving and Psotka gave participants a list of words organised into categories, recall of the first list was 70% but fell with each new list. When told the names of the categories (cues) recall rose again to 70%. Shows that interferance causes just a temporary loss of access to material still in LTM