Explanations for forgetting : interference

What is interference

The interference theory is an explanation for forgetting. This occurs when 2 pieces of information disrupt each other, resulting in forgetting one or both

Types of interference

• proactive interference- this occurs when older memories disrupt the recall of newer memories. For example your teacher has learnt so many names in the past that she has difficulty remembering the names of her current class

• Retroactive interference- this occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories. For example your teacher has learnt so many names this year she has difficulty remembering the names of the students last year

McGeoch and McDonald (1931)

• they stated that interference is worse when the information/memories are more similar

• They gave all participants one list of words which they had to learn and remember with 100% accuracy. The participants were split into 6 groups and given a new list of either synonyms, antonyms, unrelated adjectives, consonant syllables, 3-digit numbers or no list

• When the participants were asked to recall the original list , those who had a second list of synonyms produced the worst recall

Evaluation

• a strength is that there is evidence of interference effects in more everyday situations- Baddeley and Hitch asked rugby players to recall names of the teams they had played against during the rugby season. It was found that players who played the most games had the poorest recall

• One limitation is that interference is temporary and can be overcome using cues- Tulving and Psotka gave participants multiple lists to learn that had all been split into categories. Recall averaged about 70% but became progressively worse as additional lists were learned