Explanations for forgetting: Interference

• What is the main reason for forgetting in long-term memory?

  Interference
• What are the types of interference in memory?

  • Proactive interference: old memory interferes with new memory
  • Retroactive interference: new memory interferes with old memory
• What did McGeoch and McDonald discover about interference?

  Interference is worse when memories are similar
• How did McGeoch and McDonald's procedure study retroactive interference?

  • Changed similarity between two sets of materials
  • Participants learned a list of 10 words
  • Then learned a new list
• What were the findings of McGeoch and McDonald's study on recall?

  Most similar material produced the worst recall
• What is a strength of the interference research by Baddeley and Hitch?

  • High external validity
  • Used real-life examples with rugby players
• What did Baddeley and Hitch find regarding rugby players' recall?

  Players with more games had poorer recall
• What is a limitation of interference in memory?

  • Interference is temporary
  • Can be overcome by cues
• How did Tulving and Psotka demonstrate the temporary nature of interference?

  • Gave participants categorized word lists
  • Recall decreased with additional lists
  • Cued recall test improved recall
• What happened to recall after participants learned additional lists in Tulving and Psotka's study?

  Recall became worse after each additional list
• What does the cued recall test in Tulving and Psotka's study show about interference?

  Interference causes temporary loss of information