Proactive + Retroactive interference

• Description of explanations of forgetting

  -One key idea is 'interference'

  -This occurs when one memory DISRUPTS our ability to recall another

  -Interference is most likely to occur when two memories are similar

  -There are 2 main types of interference
• What are the two main types of interference?

  -Retroactive interference (RI)-Proactive interference (PI)
• What is Retroactive Interference (RI)?

  This occurs when newly learned information disrupts our recall of older memories

  -This is because the later memory task interferes with the recall of the original, associated memory

  -E.g. learning the Spanish word for 'thankyou' (gracias) and then learning the Italian word for 'thankyou' (grazie) and struggling to recall the Spanish word you learned first
• What is Proactive Interference (PI)?

  This occurs when older memories disrupt our ability to learn and recall new information

  -This is because the original memory interferes with the formation of the new, associated memory

  -E.g. learning the Spanish word for 'thankyou (gracias) and then learning the Italian word for thankyou (grazie) and struggling to recall the Italian word you learned later
• McGeogh and McDonald (1931) - RI explanation - Strength or weakness?

  Evidence to support the RI explanation comes from McGeogh and McDonald (1931)

  -They found that, when pps had learned a word list with 100% accuracy and were then given one of a range of new lists to memorise: the more similar the new list was, the poorer the recall of the original list

  -It was concluded that even very strong memories can be disrupted by new learning if the new learning is very similar

  -This is positive as it supports the strong effects of retroactive interference
• Underwood (1957) - PI explanation - Strength or Weakness?

  Evidence to support the PI explanation comes from Underwood (1957)-He found, after analysing the results of a number of studies (called a meta-analysis), that when pps have to learn a series of word lists they do not learn the lists given later on in the series as well as the lists given earlier on in the series-It was concluded that the earlier word lists were disrupting the learning of the new material in the later word lists-This is positive as it supports the idea of proactive interference in the learning of words.