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•Interference is one theory
to explain how and why
forgetting occurs in long-
term memory.
•Interference is a memory
marvel in which some
memories interfere with the
retrieval of other memories.
•There is an immense number
of encoded memories within
the storage of LTM(Long
Term Memory).
•The challenge for memory
retrieval is recalling the specific
memory and working in the
temporary workspace provided
in STM(Short Term Memory).
• Retaining information regarding
the relevant time of encoding
memories into LTM influences
interference strength.
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After changing your mobile
phone number, you have a
difficult time remembering the
new number, so you keep
accidentally giving people your
old number. The memory of your
old number interferes with your
ability to recall your new
number.
•The verbal information would
interfere only with verbal (words)
memory. Similarly, it was thought
that quantitative (numerical)
information would interfere only with
quantitative memory.
There are two kinds of
Interference Theory:
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•Retroactive interference occurs
when newly acquired knowledge
impedes the recall of older
material. It interferes with our
ability to remember information
we learned previously.
•In simple, old memories are
changed by new ones, sometimes
so much that the original memory
is forgotten.
•This is when newly learned
information interferes with and
impedes the recall of previously
learned information.
An example of this would be
learning a new way to make a
paper airplane, and then being
unable to remember the way you
used to make them.
•The ability to recall previously
learned information is greatly
reduced if that information is not
utilized, and there is substantial
new information being presented.
•This often occurs when
hearing recent news figures,
then trying to remember earlier
facts and figures.
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•Proactive interference occurs
when old memories hinder the
ability to make new memories.
•In this case, the interfering
material occurs before, rather
than after, learning of the to-
be-remembered material.
• Old information inhibits the
ability to remember new
information, such as when
outdated scientific facts
interfere with the ability to
remember updated facts.
•An example would be growing
up being taught that Pluto is a
planet in our solar system, then
being told as an adult that Pluto
is no longer considered a planet.
• Having such a strong memory
would negatively impact the
recall of the new information,
and when asked how many
planets there are, someone who
grew up thinking of Pluto as a
planet might say nine instead of
eight.
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•The amount of proactive
interference generally climbs
with increases in the length of
time between when the
information is presented (and
encoded) and when the
information is retrieved.
•Proactive interference
generally has stronger
effects in older adults than in
younger people.
Proactive interference seems to be
associated with activation in the
frontal cortex. In particular, it
activates Brodmann area 45 in the
left hemisphere.
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In alcoholic patients, proactive
interference is seen to a lesser
degree than in non-alcoholic
patients.
The alcoholic patients have
difficulty integrating past
information with new information.
Thus, alcoholic patients may
have difficulty binding together
unrelated items in a list.
These findings of Alcoholic Patients
suggest that Brodmann area 45 is
likely involved in the binding of
items into meaningful groups. When
more information is gathered, an
attempt to relate them to one
another can occupy much of the
available resources, leaving limited
processing ability for new items.
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All information does not equally
contribute to proactive
interference.
For instance, if you are learning
a list of numbers, your
performance in learning the list will
gradually decline as the list
continues.
If, the list switches to words,
your performance will rebound.
This enhancement in
performance is known as
release from proactive
interference.
Peterson investigated the duration of
short-term memory by conducting a
laboratory experiment with a sample of
24 psychology students.
The students had to recall
meaningless three-letter trigrams
(for example, THG, XWV) at
different intervals (3, 6, 9, 12, 15
or 18 seconds).
To prevent rehearsal (practice)
the students had to count
backwards in threes or fours from
a specific number, until they were
asked to recall the letters.
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Peterson found that the longer
the interval the less accurate the
recall.
At 3 seconds, around 80% of the
trigrams were correctly recalled,
whereas at 18 seconds only 10%
were correctly recalled.
Peterson concluded that short-
term memory has a limited
duration of approximately 18
seconds.
Schemas are mental
frameworks that represent
knowledge in a meaningful way
The later work using the Brown-
Peterson paradigm confirms the
notion that prior knowledge has an
enormous effect on memory,
sometimes leading to interference or
distortion.
Another method often used for
determining the causes of
forgetting involves the serial-
position curve.
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The serial position curve can be
defined as a “U-shaped
relationship between a word’s
position in a list and its probability
of recall.”
This occurs due to a phenomenon
known as Serial Position Effect.
The serial position effect
consists of two phenomena
viz.
Primacy effect
Recency effect.
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Primacy effect refers to the better
recall of items from the beginning
of list (first three or four items)
Recency effect refers to the
better recall of items from
the end of the list (last three
or four items) than middle
items of the list.
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13. PAGE
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Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M.
(1968). Human memory: A proposed
system and its control processes. In K.
W. Spence & J. T. Spence (Eds.), The
psychology of learning and
motivation (Vol. 2, pp. 89–195). New
York: Academic.Google Scholar
Glanzer, M., & Cunitz, A. R. (1966).
Two storage mechanisms in free
recall. Journal of Verbal Learning and
Verbal Behavior, 5, 351–360.Google
Scholar
https://courses.lumenlearning.co
m/boundless-
psychology/chapter/the-process-of-
forgetting/
Wixted, J. (2004), "The psychology
and neuroscience of
forgetting." (PDF), Annual Review of
Psychology, 55, pp. 235–269
McLeod, S. A. (2008). Simply
Psychology; . Retrieved 19 February
2012, from Simply Psychology