proactive and retroactive interference

forgetting definition

• a person’s loss of ability to recall information and store memories

• forgetting can occur both in STM and LTM

interference definition

• interference occurs when one memory prevents the retrieval of another memory

• the more similar the memories, the more likely interference becomes

proactive interference definition

• occurs when an older memory interferes with a newer memory

• e.g. when the names of previous neighbours are remembered instead of the names of new neighbours

retroactive interference

• occurs when a new memory prevents the recall of an older memory

  • the names of new neighbours are remembered instead of the old neighbours

McGeoch and McDonald (1931)

• to test whether the similarity of information had an impact on the severity of retroactive interference, McGeoch and McDonald used 6 groups of participants, presenting them with varying amounts of similarity in lists of words to remember

• They found the more similarity between the 2 sets of words learnt, the stronger the interference and, therefore, the worse the recall

strengths of interference explanation

• Interference occurs in real-life situations (Baddeley and Hitch, 1977)

  • Rugby players were asked to recall names of teams they had played against over one season

  • Players who had played the most games had the worst recall

  • The researchers found that the later, more recent games had interfered with recall of the earlier games

  • Baddeley and Hitch concluded that interference had occurred to prevent accurate recall

  • The use of real player recalling real games gives this study good ecological validity

• Interference may explain why it is often more difficult to learn a language if a previous language has been learnt

  • The above observation gives the theory good external validity

weaknesses of interference explanation

• Interference can be temporary; using hints or cues can help with remembering previously forgotten information (Tulving & Psotka, 1971)

• Much of the research used for studying interference is lab-based using artificial tasks which means the research has low ecological validity