AO1

• What is the duration and capacity of long-term memory (LTM)?

  Unlimited
• Why might someone struggle to recall events from when they were four?

  Evidence of forgetting in long-term memory
• What are the two reasons for forgetting in LTM?

  Availability and accessibility
• What is interference in the context of memory?

  One memory interferes with another
• When is interference most common?

  When two memories are similar
• What are the two types of interference?

  • Proactive interference: older memory affects newer
  • Retroactive interference: newer memory affects older
• What does proactive interference mean?

  Older memory interferes with newer memory
• What does retroactive interference mean?

  Newer memory interferes with older memory
• Who conducted research on retroactive interference?

  Postman and Underwood
• What was the method used by Postman and Underwood in their experiment?

  Participants recalled paired words from lists
• What was the conclusion of Postman and Underwood's experiment?

  Second list interfered with first list recall
• What did McGeoch & Mcdonald (1931) study?

  How similarity affects retroactive interference
• What was the procedure in McGeoch & Mcdonald's study?

  Participants learned lists of words with varying similarity
• What were the different types of lists used in McGeoch & Mcdonald's study?

  • Group 1: Synonyms
  • Group 2: Antonyms
  • Group 3: Unrelated words
  • Group 4: Nonsense syllables
  • Group 5: Three-digit numbers
  • Group 6: No new list (resting)
• How did the similarity of the second list affect participants' performance?

  The more similar, the worse the performance
• What does the research by McGeoch & Mcdonald suggest about interference?

  • Interference is strongest with similar memories
  • Performance declines as similarity increases