interference

Interference

Forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing one or both memories to be distorted or forgotten

2 types of interference

1. Proactive interference

2. Retroactive interference

Proactive interference (PI)

Forgetting occurs when older memories, already stores, disrupt recall of newer memories

• forgetting is greater when memories are similar

Retroactive interference (RI)

Forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories already stored

• degree of forgetting is greater when memories are similar

What does interference cause

Forgetting

What is interference an explanation of

For forgetting long term memory

• LTM is more or less permanent, therefore if we can’t remember its likely because we can’t get access to them although they are available

What does interference between memories cause?

Makes it harder for us to locate memories, we expense this as ‘forgetting’

Research on effects of similarity

McGeoch and McDonald

• studied RI by changing the amount of similarity between two sets of materials

• participants had to learn. List of 10 words until they could remember with 100% accuracy

• they then learnt a new list

• there where 6 groups of participants who had to learn different types of new lists

Findings and conclusions of research on effects of similarity

When participants where asked to recall original list of words the most similar material (synonyms) produced the worst recall

What did the research on effects of similarity show/demonstrate

Interference is stronger when the memories are similar

2 reasons why similarity effects recall

1. Due to Pi previously stored information makes new similar information more difficult to store

2. Due to RI - new information overwrites previous similar memories because of the similarity

One strength for interference theory

Evidence of effects in more everyday situations - increases validity of theory

BADDELEY AND HITCH

• asked rugby played to recall names of teams they had played against this rugby season

• players who played the most games had the poorest recall (interference for memory)

Limitation of interference

Individual differences in interference effects

• some people are more resistant to the effects of interference than others

• Vogel and colleagues (2005) gave participants a series of tasks to test their working memory capacity (WMC)

• the highest and lowest scorers where given additional tasks to create proactive interference

• was found that the individuals with high WMC where much less likely to be effected by PI than low WMC individuals

• researchers suggested that high WMC is associated Utah an enhanced filtering ability which helps repent irrelevant information from cluttering working memory.