Interference

Interference

What is interference?

When the recall of one memory blocks the recall of another, causing forgetting/distorted perceptions of these memories

Interference

What are the types of interference?

Proactive interference:

• Old information interferes with new information retrieval.

• Eg: When the rules of a sport change, but you keep using the old rules unintentionally

Retroactive interference:

• New information interferes with old information retrieval

• Eg: When the rules of a sport change, and you can't remember the old rules.

Interference

What mnemonic helps with interference types?

Proactive

Old interferes w/ new

Retroactive

New interferes w/ old

Interference

(AO1 or AO3)

Baddeley and Hitch (1977)

asked rugby players to recall names of teams they played against over a season → time b/w first game + recall = the same for everyone BUT some players played more games → time since match DIDN’T effect accuracy BUT number of games played b/w the start of the season and recall did (more similar events, so harder to remember each in detail)

Interference

Evaluation: lab studies

Most research on interference = lab studies → high control, so the results have high reliability, BUT low mundane realism/ecological validity – tasks are often artificial and don’t take into account the NATURE of material to be remembered (eg: word lists) + uses shorter LTM (eg: hours/days, not weeks/months/years - Baddeley (1990) suggests time b/w given info + recall = too short) → SO limits generalisation to real life EXCEPT Baddeley + Hitch (1977)

Interference

Evaluation: validity issues

Interference research doesn’t investigate whether the information has “disappeared” or can be recovered later SO doesn't explicitly show if it’s interference or decay (theory that over time, memories fade + become less accessible → forgetting)

Interference

Evaluation: support

Interference = one of most consistently demonstrated findings in psychology → Thousands of lab experiments, eg: McGeoch + McDonald (1931) found the most similar lists A + B were the worse the recall (12% synonyms vs 37% numbers) → shows interference = strongest when memories = similar → strength bcs lab experiments control extraneous variables → confidence interference = valid explanation for at least some forgetting

Interference

Evaluation: Alternative explanation

Retrieval failure: memory has been encoded and stored, but sometimes cannot be accessed + the greater similarity b/w encoding event + retrieval event = greater likelihood of recall (Tulving’s Encoding Specificity Principle) → suggests it’s retrieval failure causing at least some forgetting, not interference → not developed enough to explain all forgetting