forgetting: interference

• How many different conditions were there for part 2 of the study?

  6 different conditions
• What are the types of lists used in the study by McGeoch and McDonald (1931)?

  • Synonyms
  • Antonyms
  • Words unrelated to part 1
  • Nonsense syllables
  • Three-digit numbers
  • Control group (no part 2)
• Which type of list produced the worst recall in McGeoch and McDonald's study?

  Synonyms produced the worst recall
• What did the control group in the study do?

  No new list, participants just rested
• What was the best recall condition in the study?

  The control group produced the best recall
• What is a strength of McGeoch and McDonald's study?

  • High internal validity
  • Controlled environment reduces extraneous variables
  • Supported by scientific studies
• What is a weakness of lab studies like McGeoch and McDonald's?

  • Use of artificial materials
  • Does not reflect real-life scenarios
  • Limited understanding of long-term interference
• What does interference mean in the context of forgetting?

  Disruption of one memory by other information
• What are the two types of interference?

  Retroactive and proactive interference
• What is retroactive interference?

  Recent information disrupts recall of old information
• What is proactive interference?

  Old memory interferes with new memory
• What did Tulving and Psotka (1971) find regarding cued-recall tests?

  • Participants memorized five lists of 24 words
  • Recall decreased with each subsequent list
  • Cued-recall test raised recall to 70%
• What is displacement in the context of forgetting?

  New memories push out older memories
• What does trace decay suggest about memory?

  Memories decay over time if unused
• What are the two types of forgetting to know in detail for the exam?

  • Interference: one memory blocks another
  • Retrieval Failure: insufficient cues to access memory
• How does interference affect memory retrieval?

  It blocks access to stored memories
• Why is interference worse when memories are similar?

  Similar memories can confuse recall processes
• What was the procedure in McGeoch and McDonald's retroactive interference study?

  Participants learned a list of 10 words
• What did participants do after learning the first list in McGeoch and McDonald's study?

  They learned another list of 10 words