Proactive & Retrocative Interference

• Forgetting refers to a person's loss of ability to recall information and store memories
• Forgetting can occur in both short term and long term memory
• Interference in an explanation for forgetting and is divided into:

  • Proactive Interference
  • Retroactive Interference
• Proactive Interference occurs when an older memory interfers with a newer memory (the newer memory is forgotten)
• Retroactive occurs when a new memory prevents the recall of an older memory (older memory is forgotten)
• A strength of interference is that it occurs in real-life situations (Baddeley & Hitch). Rugby players were asked to recall names of teams they had played against over one season. Players who had played the most games had the worst recall. The researchers found that the later, more recent games had interfered with recall of the earlier games (Retroactive Interference). The use of real players gives this study good ecological validity.
• Another strength is that interference may explain why it is often more difficult to learn a language if a previous language has been learnt. This gives the theory good external validity
• A limitation is that interference can be temporary, using hints or clues can help with remembering previously forgotten information
• A limitation is that a lot of the research supporting interference is lab-based using artificial tasks, which means the studies have low ecological validity