4. Explanation if forgetting: Interference

What is interference?

Forgetting occurs because memories compete with each other.

When does interference occur?

When memories are similar (the degree of forgetting) and close together in time

What is proactive interference?

Old memories interfere causing us to forget new information.( An old phone number makes it hard to remember a new one.)

What is retroactive interference?

New memories interfere causing us to forget old information. (Learning a new password makes it hard to remember the old one.)

Strengths of interference theory

For proactive

• Underwood found that pp who learned many word lists (10+) remembered fewer words from the later lists-only about 20% after 24h- compared to 70% when they learned just one list. It shows how old information (first list) conflicts with new information (latest list) causing us to forget the new info (latest list)

For retroactive

• Baddeley and Hitch asked rugby players to recall team names from a season and found that those who played more games, forgot more names. It supports interference, as when pieces of info (team names) conflict with each other which results in forgetting. As new names making it harder to remember to remember the old names, showing that a retroactive interference took place. Increased external validity.

Weaknesses of interference theory

Simplistic explanation

• it doesn’t consider the impacts of cues. Godden and Baddeley found that recall is better when their pp learning and recall environments matched (learning and recalling under water). Therefore, it suggests that forgetting may be due to missing environmental cues rather than interference. As interference theory ignores context or stay dependent cues it’s too simplistic and retrieval failure may be better explanation in some cases.