forgetting- interference

Question 1

interference theory

Answer 1

when 2 pieces of info conflict with each other, causing 1 or both to be distorted or forgotten

Question 2

proactive

Answer 2

old memory interferes with new memory

Question 3

retroactive

Answer 3

new memory interferes with old memory

Question 4

underwood and postman study- retroactive support

Answer 4

lab experiment- ppts learned a list of paired words. experimental group learned a second list with the same first words, while control group did not. recall was better for control group= support for retroactive

Question 5

underwood study- proactive support

Answer 5

examined proactive interference over 24 hr periods. ppts who learned 50 words lists recalled only 20% of the last list after a day, compared to 80% with no prior lists= proactive impaired recall of later ones

Question 6

weakness- low ecological validity

Answer 6

interference effects seem greater in artificial settings, such as lab studies, than in real-life situations. Studies by McGeoch and McDonald show significant interference in controlled environments, but this may not reflect how memory operates in everyday life, making the theory less applicable to real-world memory processes.

Question 7

strength- high validity

Answer 7

thousands of lab studies carried out on this theory- lab exp control effects of irrelevant influences and variables= sure to be valid

Question 8

weakness- partial explanation

Answer 8

explains forgetting when 2 sets of information are presented close together in time, such as in controlled lab settings. However, this struggles to account for many day-to-day examples of forgetting, where information is often not presented in such close proximity= less effective in explaining the wide range of forgetting that occurs in everyday life, limiting its applicability to real-world memory processes.

Question 9

strength- practical application

Answer 9

there is evidence for its existence in real-world settings- if someone learns French and later starts learning German, they may struggle to remember French due to the interference of the newly learned language= interference can affect memory in everyday situations, providing support for the theory