Explanation for forgetting in terms of one memory disrupting the ability to recall another
-Most likely to occur when the two memories have similarities
Proactive interference?
Old information interfering with the learning/retrieval of new infromation
Retroactiveinformation?
New information interfering with the retrieval of old information
McGeoch and McDonald (1931)?
-Aim: to see how changing the amount of similarity between two sets of material affect the severity of retroactive interference
-Procedure: Ppts had to learn a list of 10 words until they could recall with 100% accuracy, then spilt into 6 groups to learn a new list of words (G1-synonyms, G2-antonyms, G3-unrelated, G4-nonsense syllables, G5-3 digit N.O, G6-no new list (control group))
-Findings: Ppts recall depended on their second list, with G1 having the worst recall
-Conclusion: interference is strongest when memories are similar