interference theory

interference theory

the theory that memory can be negatively affected by information we already have or by new experiences that occur while we take in new information

forgetting curve

first studied by hermann ebbinghaus in 1885, it illustrates how forgetting occurs over time

cause of forgetting

caused by memories competing or interfering with one another

similarity of memories

any type of interference is more likely to occur when memories (or information being learned) are similar

types of Interference

retroactive Interference and proactive Interference

what does interference theory occur in?

long-term memory

retroactive interference

occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall older information

what was the aim of the mcgeoch and mcdonald (1931) study?

to investigate how similarity of newly learned material affects the recall of previously learned information and if retroactive interference is influenced by the degree of similarity between two lists of words

how many groups were participants divided into in mcgeoch and mcdonald's study?

6 groups, each learning a different type of second list

what types of second lists did participants learn in mcgeoch and mcdonald?

1. synonyms, 2. antonyms, 3. unrelated words, 4. consonant syllables, 5. 3-digit numbers, 6. control group (no new list)

which group had the worst recall of the original list in mcgeoch and mcdonald?

the group that learned synonyms

which group had the best recall of the original list in mcgeoch and mcdonald?

the control group

what conclusion was drawn from the mcgeoch and mcdonald study regarding similarity between memories?

similarity between memories is the most significant factor in interference, causing more forgetting

what is one strength of the mcgeoch and mcdonald study?

supports interference theory and has high internal validity due to being conducted in a highly controlled laboratory experiment

what does high internal validity in the mcgeoch and mcdonald study allow for?

allows for the establishment of a clear cause-and-effect relationship

what is one limitation of the mcgeoch and mcdonald study?

lacks ecological validity as the study was artificial and tasks were not reflective of everyday memory use

how does the artificial nature of the mcgeoch and mcdonald study affect its findings?

limits the generalisability of findings to real-world scenarios

what was a methodological issue regarding the time intervals in the mcgeoch and mcdonald study?

the time intervals between the first and second list and recall were short, which does not reflect the longer periods over which forgetting typically occurs

what was the sample size of the original mcgeoch and mcdonald study?

12 participants

why is a small sample size a limitation in mcgeoch and mcdonald?

makes it difficult to generalise findings to a wider population as individual differences in memory are not adequately accounted for

what type of experiment was conducted in the mcgeoch and mcdonald study?

a highly controlled laboratory experiment

what was the aim of baddeley and hitch's 1977 study?

to investigate if interference was a better explanation for forgetting than the passage of time in a real-life situation

what method did baddeley and hitch use in their study?

rugby players were asked to recall the names of all the teams they had played against during a single season, with varying numbers of games played

what did the results of the study indicate about players who had played in more games in baddeley and hitch?

they had more difficulty recalling earlier opponents

what conclusion did baddeley and hitch draw from their study?

learning of new information interfered with the recall of older information

what is one strength of the baddeley and hitch study?

ecological validity as it used real rugby players recalling memories from their actual season

how does the baddeley and hitch study support interference theory?

findings showed that interference occurred in a natural everyday situation

what is a limitation of the baddeley and hitch study?

limited scope, focusing only on retroactive interference and not providing a comprehensive explanation for all types of forgetting

aim of postman (1960) study

to investigate how retroactive interference affects learning to see if new learning interferes with the ability to recall previously learned information

method of postman (1960) study

participants were split into two groups; group a learned a list of word pairs then learned a second list with changing words. group b only learned the first list. all participants were then asked to recall the first list and the experimental group's recall was less accurate (group a = experiment, group b = control)

conclusion of postman (1960) study

new learning disrupts old memory, shows retroactive interference is real thus supporting the theory

strength of postman (1960) study

high control - lab experiment allowed for clear cause-and-effect relationship to be established

reliability of postman (1960) study

standardised procedure meant the study could easily be replicated to test the consistency of findings

evidence for interference theory in postman (1960) study

new information disrupted recall of old information

limit of postman (1960) study

lacks ecological validity - learning paired word lists is an artificial task that doesn't reflect how memory is used in everyday life

artificial setting in postman (1960) study

results may not be generalisable to real-world situations limiting external validity

proactive interference

when old information interferes with new information that is being learned

what did underwood (1957) discover about learning multiple word lists?

individuals who learned many word lists earlier had poorer recall of new lists compared to those who learned fewer lists

what is the effect of earlier learning on new information recall?

earlier learning can interfere with the ability to remember new information

how did the number of learned word lists affect recall in underwood's study?

participants who learned 10-word lists before a final list recalled the final list much poorer than those who learned just one

what concept does underwood's study support regarding memory?

the concept that older memories can proactively disrupt the retrieval of more recent ones

in underwood's experiment, how did the recall of a final list differ based on prior learning?

recall of the final list was significantly poorer for those with extensive prior learning compared to those with minimal prior learning

what is a strength of interference theory regarding evidence?

it is backed up by robust experimental evidence from well-controlled lab studies

how does interference theory apply to real-world memory use?

it shows that similar subjects learned close together can impair memory

what practical value does interference theory have in education?

it informs better revision strategies by highlighting the impact of similar subjects on memory

what is a limitation of interference theory?

it cannot account for all instances of forgetting, especially when information has no obvious similarity

what types of materials are often used in research supporting interference theory?

artificial materials like lists of nonsense syllables or random words

why do the materials used in interference theory research lack ecological validity?

they do not reflect how we use memory in real life, where information is typically more meaningful, emotional, or contextual

how does interference theory relate to long-term memory?

it provides an explanation for forgetting in ltm when similar information interferes

what is one reason why interference theory is considered to have limited explanatory power?

it does not fully explain forgetting that occurs without similarity between memories