Interference

• Interference is one explanation for forgetting this is where 2 lots of information becomes confused in memory and disrupt each other. Forgetting occurs in long term memory as we can’t access information even though it’s available. Forgetting occurs because memories interfere and disrupt one another. One explanation for forgetting is interference where 2 lots of information becomes confused in memory. There are 2 ways that interference can cause forgetting
• Proactive interference – where old information Affects recall of new information 2)Retroactive interference - new information affects recall of old information. New information moves backwards and interfere with the retrieval of old information Interference is likely to occur when 2 pieces of information are similar this issue to response competition. Interference is less likely to occur When there is a gap between the instances of learning so it is time sensitive.
• Effects of similarity: Aim Mcgoech and McDonald researched the effects of similarity they studied Retroactive interference by changing the amount of similarity between 2 sets of materials.
• Procedure- Participants were asked to learn a list of words till 100% accuracy, they were then given a new list ( the material varied in the Degree to which it was similar to the old) Group 1 – synonyms Group 2- antonyms Group 3- unrelated Group4- consonant syllables Group5- 3-digit numbers Group 6- control group no new list Results They found when participants were asked to recall the original list of words the most similar material group 1 synonyms produced the worst recall when participants were given very different material such as 3-digit numbers the mean number of items recalled increased. This shows that interference is strongest when memories are most similar.
• Conclusion This shows that interference is strongest when the memories are similar Proactive interference- previously stored information makes new information more difficult to store Retroactive interference new information overwrites previous similar memories because of the similarities