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Explanations for forgetting: Interference (Evaluation (Research is quite…
Explanations for forgetting: Interference
Keyterms
Interference- an explanation for forgetting in terms of one memory disrupting the ability to recall another. This is most likely to occur when the two memories have some similarity
Proactive interference (PI)- Past learning interferes with current attempts to learn something.
Retroactive interference (RI)- current attempts to learn something interfere with past learning.
Description Of Interference Theory
Retroactive interference
They gave ppts a list of nonsense syllables to learn for 6 minutes and then, after a retention interval, asked ppts to recall the lists.
Performance was less good if ppts had been given an intervening task between initial learning and recall
The intervening tasks produced RI because the later task interfered with what had previously been learned
Proactive interference
Underwood found that, if ppts memorised 10 or more lists, then, after 24 hours, they remembered about 20% of what they learned.
If they only learned one list recall was over 70%. These results can be seen in the graph on the right.
Similarity of Test Materials
McGeoch and McDonald experimented with the effects of similarity of materials.
If List B was a list of synonyms of List A, recall was poor (12%); if List B was numbers this had the least effect (37% recall). This shows that interference is strongest the more similar the items are. Only interference, rather than decay, can explain such effects.
A real-world study
Investigated interference effects in an everyday setting of rugby players recalling the names of the teams they have played against over a rugby season
If decay theory is correct then all players should recall a similar percentage of the games played because time alone should cause forgetting.
If interference theory is correct then those players who played most games should forget proportionately more because of interference - which is what Baddeley and Hitch found, demonstrating the effect of interference in everyday life.
Evaluation
Research is quite artificial
Interference only explains some situations of forgetting
Accessibility versus availability
Real-world application to advertising
Individual differences