McGeoch and Mcdonald 1931

• What is one concern of memory researchers?

  Forgetting
• Why might someone be more interested in forgetting than remembering?

  It relates to performance in exams
• What is one explanation for forgetting?

  Interference
• When does forgetting occur according to interference theory?

  When two memories compete with each other
• Who investigated the concept of interference in memory?

  John McGeoch and William McDonald
• What was the aim of McGeoch and McDonald's study?

  To see the effect of a second activity on recall
• How many participants were involved in the study?

  Twelve participants
• What did participants have to learn in the study?

  A list of ten words
• What was the control condition in the study?

  No new list, just retested
• What type of lists were shown to participants?

  Five different kinds of lists
• What were the five types of lists shown to participants?

  1. Synonyms
  2. Antonyms
  3. Unrelated words
  4. Nonsense syllables
  5. Three-digit numbers
• What was the result regarding recall accuracy based on the second list?

  Performance depended on the nature of the second list
• Which type of second list produced the least accurate recall?

  Synonyms
• What conclusion can be drawn about interference from the study?

  Interference is strongest with similar activities
• What is a strength of the study's methodology?

  • Controlled research
  • Use of counterbalancing to reduce bias
  • Different orders of lists for participants
• What is a weakness of the study's task?

  It used artificial word lists
• How does the study's task relate to real-life memory activity?

  It does not reflect everyday memory tasks
• What aspect of memory does the study primarily address?

  Similarities in memory interference
• What are the limitations of the study's findings on interference?

  • Limited to specific conditions
  • Does not generalize to real-life scenarios
  • Focuses only on similar items