Experiment No.

4
RETROACTIVE INHIBITION

Abstract
This experiment examined the effect of changes in stimulus paradigm of new learning interferes
with the retention of old memories. This was a long duration experiment it was conducted in
kaithal (Haryana ) sessions composed of listA, list B & list C, and due to examination of 2 type
of interpolated activity , the conduction took place on 1 subject for each session the subject was
given 30 seconds to memorize the list and after that the subjects were given 1 minute to recall
the list and trial went on until they get the whole list right . It was a single subject experiment
with age criteria of 18 and above along with that the percentile of correct recall was calculated .
Both the recalls had a huge difference.

Keywords-Subsequent Activity,Neural Element ,Preceding Activity,Nonsense Syllable and

Subsequent Memorization, interpolated

Problem Statement: To Measure the effect of retroactive inhibition on the adult participant

Introduction
Retroactive inhibition is the negative effect of an activity following memorization on the retention
of the material memorized. If memorization is followed by some other activity, recall of the
material may not be as com- plete as when the memorization is followed by rest. This
deterioration of recall is due to the "inhibitory" effect of the activity following the memoriza- tion.
Therefore, the inhibition involved has been designated retroactive inhibition. Obviously, this
"retroactive effect" cannot be interpreted literally as an influence on the actual process of
memorization. By the time the next activity begins, this process has already been completed,
and therefore we are dealing not with an influence on the process itself, but only on the "traces"
resulting from the memorization.
The first systematic study of retroactive inhibition dates back to MUller and Pilzecker (1900)
who coined the term (rUckwirkende Hemmung). Re- troactive inhibition became the object of
extensive study (printed in a con- siderable number of publications) in which the effects of the
most diverse conditions on this phenomenon of great scientific interest were examined.
Retroactive inhibition is of substantial theoretical interest, since it pertains directly to the
problem of the causes of forgetting. Some investiga- tors even believe that retroactive inhibition
is, if not the only, then at least the main cause of forgetting. In this regard, the French
psychologist Fou- cault (see Britt, 1935) states that "what causes forgetting is not time itself, but
how this time is occupied." StOrring (1931) holds the same views, assert- ing that "not time in
itself, but the impressions received in the course of time lead quite naturally to the forgetting of
old impressions." Analogous views are expressed by the American psychologists Jenkins and
Dallenbach (1924)
who believe that "forgetting is not so much the result of the destruction of old impressions and
associations as the product of interference, inhibition, and changing of the old by the new." The
cause of forgetting the old is acquisition of the new.
On this basis, some foreign investigators raise objections to the widely known "law of disuse"
proposed by Thorndike (1923) and formulated as follows: "If the connection between a situation
and the response to it does not occur for a prolonged period, the stability of this connection
decreases." For example, McGeoch (1932) states in regard to this law that "to say that
forgetting is caused by mere disuse means to advance a proposition that is too general to be
significant." According to this point of view, the lack of repeti- tion of something previously
occurring is thus not in itself the cause of forgetting.
While we categorically reject any attempt to reduce forgetting to the influence of subsequent
activity alone, i.e., to retroactive inhibition (since retroactive inhibition is an example of external
inhibition, while forgetting is determined to a considerable extent by internal inhibition), we can
by no means deny the role of retroactive inhibition as one of the causes of forget- ting. Mental
processes do not proceed in isolation, but in intimate connection and interaction with each
other. Retroactive inhibition is one of the types of this interaction, and its study will undoubtedly
advance the investigation of the problem of forgetting in many respects.
The practical importance of the problem of retroactive inhibition is also apparent. The study of
cases of inhibitory influence of the activity following memorization could lead to suggestions
regarding the correct organization of the learning process. If retroactive inhibition is one of the
causes of for- getting, obviously the elucidation of the conditions under which it can occur and
of the conditions which decrease or altogether eliminate it would aid educators in organizing the
sequence of their students' work in such a way as to minimize the effect of this type of inhibition.

Learning
Learning is a key process in human behaviour. All living is learning. If we compare the simple,
crude ways in which a child feels and behaves, with the complex modes of adult behaviour, his
skills, habits, thought, sentiments and the like- we will know what difference learning has made
to the individual.

The individual is constantly interacting with and influenced by the environment. This experience
makes him to change or modify his behaviour in order to deal effectively with it. Therefore,
learning is a change in behaviour, influenced by previous behaviour. As stated above the skills,
knowledge, habits, attitudes, interests and other personality characteristics are all the result of
learning.
Learning is defined as “any relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of
practice and experience”. This definition has three important elements The process of learning
is continuous which starts right from the time of birth of an individual and continues till the death.
We all are engaged in the learning endeavours in order to develop our adaptive capabilities as
per the requirements of the changing environment.

For a learning to occur, two things are important:

The presence of a stimulus in the environment and

The innate dispositions like emotional and instinctual dispositions.
A person keeps on learning across all the stages of life, by constructing or reconstructing
experiences under the influence of emotional and instinctual dispositions.Psychologists in
general define Learning as relatively permanent behavioural modifications which take place as a
result of experience. This definition of learning stresses on three important elements of
learning:Learning involves a behavioural change which can be better or worse.This behavioural
change should take place as a result of practice and experience. Changes resulting from
maturity or growth cannot be considered as learning This behavioural change must be relatively
permanent and last for a relatively long time enough.

● John B Watson is one amongst the first thinkers who has proven that behavioural
changes occur as a result of learning. Watson is believed to be the founder of
Behavioural school of thought, which gained its prominence or acceptability around the
first half of the 20th century.

● Gales defined Learning as the behavioural modification which occurs as a result of

experience as well as training.

● Crow and Crow defined learning as the process of acquisition of knowledge, habits and
attitudes.

● According to E.A, Peel, Learning can be described as a change in the individual which
takes place as a result of the environmental change.

● H.J. Klausmeir described Learning as a process which leads to some behavioural

change as a result of some experience, training, observation, activity, etc.

The key characteristics of the learning process are:

When described in the simplest possible manner, learning is described as an experience

acquisition process.
In the complex form, learning can be described as process of acquisition, retention and
modification of experience.
It re-establishes the relationship between a stimulus and response.
It is a method of problem solving and is concerned about making adjustments with the
environment.
It involves all those gamut of activities which may have a relatively permanent effect on the
individual.
The process of learning is concerned about experience acquisition, retention of experiences,
and experience development in a step by step manner, synthesis of both old and new
experiences for creating a new pattern.
Learning is concerned about cognitive, conative and affective aspects. Knowledge acquisition
process is cognitive, any change in the emotions is affective and conative is acquisition of new
habits or skills.
Types of Learning

Motor Learning:
Our day to day activities like walking, running, driving, etc, must be learnt for ensuring a good
life. These activities to a great extent involve muscular coordination.

Verbal Learning:
It is related with the language which we use to communicate and various other forms of verbal
communication such as symbols, words, languages, sounds, figures and signs.

Concept Learning:
This form of learning is associated with higher order cognitive processes like intelligence,
thinking, reasoning, etc, which we learn right from our childhood. Concept learning involves the
processes of abstraction and generalization, which is very useful for identifying or recognizing
things.
Discrimination Learning:
Learning which distinguishes between various stimuli with its appropriate and different
responses is regarded as discrimination stimuli.
Learning of Principles:
Learning which is based on principles helps in managing the work most effectively. Principles
based learning explains the relationship between various concepts.
Attitude Learning:
Attitude shapes our behaviour to a very great extent, as our positive or negative behaviour is
based on our attitudinal predisposition.

There are so many factors that affects how we learn. These factors can be classified into
physiological factors, psychological factors, environmental factors and methodology of
instructions.
1. Physiological factors- factors like sense-perception, physical health, fatigue, time of learning,
age, food and drink, atmospheric conditions etc.

Sense-perception:
Sensation and perception are the basis of all cognitive learning. Weaker the power of
perception, lesser the amount of learning. A blind man learns far less than a normal person.
Impairment of sense organs is a handicap in the process of learning. Sensation and perception
work seamlessly together to allow us to experience the world through our eyes, ears, nose,
tongue, and skin, but also to combine what we are currently learning from the environment with
what we already know about it to make judgments and to choose appropriate
behaviors.Sensation and the senses are vital to learning. Visual learners learn best from
pictures, diagrams, and mind maps. Auditory learners enjoy listening to ideas and points
expressed by the teacher and their peers. For some subjects and skills the student is required
to use proprioception – the awareness of parts of the body and balance
 Physical health:
Physical health is important because ill health hampers learning, and so can fatigue. Studying
for a long time can cause fatigue, which affects your audience’s learning capacity. The time of
learning also influences how much new knowledge is acquired
Fatigue:
Muscular or sensory fatigue causes mental boredom and indolence. A number of factors in the
home and school environment may cause physical and mental fatigue, such as lack of
accommodation, bad seating arrangement, unhealthy clothing, inadequate ventilation, poor
light, noise over crowdingness, and pure nutrition. Longer homes of study also cause fatigue
which affects the learning capacity.
Time of learning:
Morning and evening hours are the best periods of study. During the day, there is decline in the
mental capacity. Experiments on children have shown that there are great variations in learning
efficiency during the different hours of the day.
Age:
Aging does affect learning in that as adults become older their physical functions such as sight
and hearing begin to degrade. However, their capability to learn does not degrade. If adult
learners are allowed to pace the speed of learning, they are as proficient as younger learners

Food and Drink:

The quantity and quality of healthy food and drink also plays a crucial part because nutrition is
responsible for efficient mental activity. Poor nutrition adversely affects learning. Alcoholic drinks
and caffeine, as well as tobacco, all have an adverse effect on the capacity of people to learn.
Good physiological factors promote effective learning.
Atmospheric conditions:
High temperature and humidity lower the mental efficiency. Low ventilation, lack of proper
illumination, noise and physical discomfort (as we find in factories and overcrowded schools)
hamper the learning capacity. Distractions of all sorts affect power of concentration and
consequently the efficiency of learning.

2. Psychological Factors:

1. Mental Health:.
Mental tension, complexes, conflicts, mental illnesses and mental diseases hamper learning. A
maladjusted child finds it difficult to concentrate. Concentration needs mental poise and
absence of mental conflict or complex. Some pupils find it difficult to prepare for the university
examination, simply because of fear of the examination and anxiety neurosis. A calm, serene
and balanced mind her the power to concentrate and learn better.

2. Motivation and Interest:

Motivation is another one of the driving factors affecting learning. A person’s motivation to do
work is directly related to how motivated they are to do that particular piece of work. To study, a
student must have both intrinsic motivation as well as extrinsic motivation. In fact, there are 10
types of motivation - all of which are essential in a student’s life. Now, just because a person is
good at something does not mean that it should be their goal in life. People who are talented in
one field sometimes excel in other fields as well.

i) Motives energise behaviour:

Hunger and thirst induce acquisition of food. Reward induces further success. Punishment or
failure induces action for achievement.

(ii) Motives select behaviour:

Only those acts of learning are selected which are supported by some motive. A boy visits a
village fair. He sees only those toys, objects or things that interest him.

(iii) Motives direct behaviour:

These activate the person, enthuse him and impel him to do the desired action. These direct his
energies to reach the desired action. These direct his energies to reach the desired goal. Sultan
of Kohlar was directed by hunger to reach the bananas, and that way he strived and learnt the
way.

It will be desirable to create motivation in the instructional programme of the school. Children
find their studies dull and boring without motivation. Hence learning should be made purposeful
and meaningful. In words of Gates “Learning experiences are meaningful when they are
invoked in his living, when they not only contribute to the purposes at the time but enable him to
more intelligent adjustments in the future, when they invoke discovery and problem solving
rather than formal drill or mere memorisation and when they result in satisfying social
relationship.”

It does not mean that the teacher should always present false incentives for learning. False
incentives prove harmful in the long run. What is needed is presentation of motives at the right
moment and in the right way.

3. Rewards and Punishment:

Rewards of all sorts are powerful incentives to learn. But these days in India school rewards are
more abused than used properly. A first division of distinction in the examination is a false
reward. Work is its own rewards. Pupils forget this point. They become over-dependent on
rewards. They refuse to work without any incentive of reward. All learning should not be and
cannot be rewarded immediately.

Punishments, arousing fear in anticipation, may influence the pupil to work and learn, but not in
all the cases. Sometimes punishment creates bad reaction, retaliation, hatred and disgust.
Experimental studies show that punishment interfere with complex learning activities, when
punishments become frequent. Absence of punishment becomes a basis of low activity on the
part of the pupil. In the absence of fear, they disobey and waste time.
Nothing succeeds like success. Thorndike’s law of effect, is applicable most commonly.
Experimental evidences show that praise stimulates small children to work and learn, although
it does not produce much effect on superior and elder children. Elder children are more
sensitive towards reproof and blame, than younger children are.

3. Environmental factors:

Working conditions-
Learning is hampered by bad working conditions such as distraction, noise, poor illumination,
bad ventilation, overcrowding, bad seating arrangement, and uncomfortable stay both at home
and school. The location of the school, the internal set-up, the accommodation, decoration and
healthful and sanitary conditions are very important for efficient learning.

4. Methodology of instructions:

Presentation and organization of learning material:

the learning material should be properly planned and organized. It should be graded to suit the
mental level of pupils. It should be presented in meaningful and interesting manners.

Learning by doing: repetition and practice is important for learning. Learning by actively doing is
more effective. Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain, and later
retrieve information. There are three major processes involved in memory: encoding, storage,
and retrieval. Human memory involves the ability to both preserve and recover information we
have learned or experienced.
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved
when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future
action.If past events could not be remembered, it would be impossible for language,
relationships, or personal identity to develop. Memory loss is usually described as forgetfulness
in other words Memory is the process of taking in information from the world around us,
processing it, storing it and later recalling that information, sometimes many years later. Human
memory is often likened to that of a computer memory system or a filing cabinet. There are
mainly three types of Memory :

1. Sensory Memory
Sensory memory is a mental representation of how environmental events look, sound, feel,
smell and taste. It includes a long-term component useful for such activities as recognizing a
color or a familiar voice. However, most vivid details of sensory memory seem to fade quickly

2. Short-Term Memory
Short-term memory (or "primary" or "active memory") is the capacity for holding a small amount
of information in an active, readily available state for a short interval. For example, short-term
memory holds a phone number that has just been recited. The duration of short-term memory
(absent rehearsal or active maintenance) is estimated to be on the order of seconds. The
commonly cited capacity of 7 items, found in Miller's Law, has been superseded by 4±1 items.
In contrast, long-term memory holds information indefinitely.

3. Long-Term Memory
Long-term memory (LTM) is the stage of the Atkinson–Shiffrin memory model in which
informative knowledge is held indefinitely. It is defined in contrast to short-term and working
memory, which persist for only about 18 to 30 seconds. Long-term memory is commonly
labelled as explicit memory (declarative), as well as episodic memory, semantic memory,
autobiographical memory, and implicit memory (procedural memory).

The modal model, proposed in the 1960s, suggests that memory is stored first in sensory
memory, then short-term memory, and finally long-term memory. Evidence for the existence of
separate memory stores includes anterograde amnesia and distraction tasks. However, the
unitary model argues that short-term memory is a temporary activation of long-term
representations. Experiments involving continual distractor tasks provide further evidence for a
unified store.

Some models propose separate systems for short-term and long-term memory. The dual-store
memory model, Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model, and Baddeley's model of working memory are
examples of such theories. Long-term memory encodes information semantically and
consolidates through a process called synaptic consolidation. Sleep is considered an important
factor in establishing well-organized long-term memories, as it promotes the consolidation of
new memories. Research has shown that sleep affects the retention of both declarative and
procedural memories.

The interference theory is a theory regarding human memory. Interference occurs in learning.
The notion is that memories encoded in long-term memory (LTM) are forgotten and cannot be
retrieved into short-term memory (STM) because either memory interferes, or hampers, the
other. There is an immense number of encoded memories within the storage of LTM. The
challenge for memory retrieval is recalling the specific memory and working in the temporary
workspace provided in STM. Retaining information regarding the relevant time of encoding
memories into LTM influences interference strength.
Essentially, interference occurs when some information makes it difficult to recall similar
material. Similar memories compete, causing some to be more difficult to remember or even
forgotten entirely. Because of this, some long-term memories cannot be retrieved into short-
term memory.
Interference theory is just one of several proposed explanations to understand not only how
memory works but also why people sometimes forget.

There are three main kinds of interference:

1. Proactive inhibition
Proactive interference refers to the interference effect of previously learned materials on the
acquisition and retrieval of newer materials. An example of proactive interference in everyday
life would be a difficulty in remembering a friend's new phone number after having previously
learned the old number.
2. Retroactive inhibition
Retroactive inhibition is the negative effect of an activity following memorization on the retention
of the material memorized. If memorization is followed by some other activity, recall of the
material may not be as complete as when the memorization is followed by rest.

3. Latent inhibition
Latent inhibition (LI) is a technical term in classical conditioning, where a familiar stimulus takes
longer to acquire meaning (as a signal or conditioned stimulus) than a new stimulus.[1] The
term originated with Lubow and Moore in 1973.[2] The LI effect is latent in that it is not exhibited
in the stimulus pre-exposure phase, but rather in the subsequent test phase. "Inhibition", here,
simply connotes that the effect is expressed in terms of relatively poor learning. The LI effect is
extremely robust, appearing in both invertebrate (for example, honey bees) and mammalian
species that have been tested and across many different learning paradigms, thereby
suggesting some adaptive advantages, such as protecting the organism from associating
irrelevant stimuli with other, more important, events.

Proactive Interference
Proactive interference is when older memories interfere with the retrieval of newer memories.
Because older memories are often better rehearsed and more strongly cemented in long-term
memory, it is often easier to recall previously learned information rather than more recent
learning.Proactive interference can sometimes make it more difficult to learn new things.4 For
example, if you move into a new house, you might find yourself accidentally writing your old
address down when filling out forms. The older memory of your previous address makes it more
difficult to recall your new address.

Retroactive Interference
Retroactive interference is when newer memories interfere with the retrieval of older memories.
Essentially, this type of interference creates a backward effect, making it more difficult to recall
things that have been previously learned.In the case of retroactive interference, learning new
things can make it more difficult to recall things that we already know. For example, a musician
might learn a new piece, only to find that the new song makes it more difficult to recall an older,
previously learned piece. While retroactive interference can have a dramatic impact on the
retention of new knowledge, there are some effective strategies that can be implemented to
minimize these effects.

Overlearning
Overlearning is one effective approach that can be used to reduce retroactive interference.
Overlearning involves rehearsing new material past the point of acquisition.

Output interference
Output interference describes the phenomenon where accuracy decrease over the course of an
episodic memory test. Output inference in cued recall takes the form of a decrease in correct
and intrusion responses and an increase in failures to response across the test. This pattern
can only be accounted for by a model with two complementary mechanisms: learning during
retrieval and a response filter that prevents repeated recall of the same item.

Review of Literature

In 1885, Ebbinghaus found that the effect of memory can be seen more programmatically with
the help of nonsense syllables (i. e. meaningless words like MUS, DUV, TUM). He founds that if
the subjects are given to memorize a list of given words and then asked to recall them after
certain period. The subject could recall nonsense syllables more effectively and quickly in
comparison to the meaningful words. He was latter on criticized by Bartlett (1932) who said that
it is not only the nonsense syllables, but cognition, social and experimental environmental which
equally effect memory. So, these aspects should also be taken care of while measuring
memory. Several ways of measuring were developed later on today.

Retroactive inhibition is one aspect of the theory of interference. Interference Theory states that
people forget not because memories are actually lost from storage but because other
information gets in the way of that people want to remember. Retroactive inhibition occurs when
material learn later destructs retrieval of information learnt earlier so old information the overlap
with new information. For the study of the same an electronic memory drum is used for most of
the 20th centuries memory drum standard American apparatus for memory research. The first
date from 1887 in the work of G.E. Muller and Schwmann Cattell used something similar for his
experiment. The memory drum is a standard method of presenting paired associate and serial
syllable list to participate in psychological
study of memory from 1890‟s until more modern computerized version came in. Muller and
Schwmann,1894 discovered that more time was necessary to relearn a series of non sense
syllables if the stimulance syllables had been associated with other syllables in the mean time
for their result, the deduced the law of association and inhibition which is quoted by K line. “If „A‟
is already connected by „B‟, then it is difficult to connect it with „K‟ because „B‟ gets in the way”.
Non sense syllables were around by Shepherd and Fogelsonger in 1913 in a series of
experiments in association and inhibition. In the experiment changes were introduced to
produce inhibition the findings were so great in many cases to present novel situation. This was
shown by introspection.
“Retroactive inhibition is a function of similarity between original task and interpolated task”.
Retroactive interference has been localized to the left anterior ventral prefrontal cortex. In
adult‟s age 56-70 years showed less magnetic activities in their prefrontal cortices than the
control group.
Retroactive interference has been investigated using three ways:
i. Pitch Perception
Pitch perception used as a learning medium in investigation of Retroactive inhibition. It is found
that the presentation of subsequent stimuli in successation causes a decrease in recalled
accuracy. Massaro found that the people forget because presentation of successive auditory
tones, confused perceptual short term memory, causing Retroactive interference as the other
information gets in the way and inhibits the retrieval of previously heard tones.
ii. Motor movement
Wohldmann, Healey and Bourn state that Retroactive interference affects the retention of motor
movements. The Retroactive inhibition affects the performance of old motor movements when
new motor movement gets.
iii. Word Task
Retroactive inhibition increase when items are similar. Control condition through the list of A
against to error less conjugative Hals and had little retroactive inhibition when asked to recall it
after a period of unrelated activity.

The Ss, 24 college men, learned lists of 10 three-consonant syllables under each of the six
conditions outlined in Table I. The first three conditions follow the usual paradigm of the RI
experiment, and the second three conditions follow the paradigm of the PI experiment as
described by Whitely and Blankenship. 5 All lists, whether first to be learned or second to be
learned, were presented for five trials before the major rest-period. Conditions II and V provide
the comparison of the retention of the first and second lists when both lists were learned and
they were very dissimilar. Conditions III and VI provide the same comparison when the lists
were very similar. Since 231/min. elapsed between the fifth learning trial on the first list and the
first relearning trial in the RI work-conditions; whereas, only 20 min.

1) Experimental design
In order to experimentally demonstrate the effect of retroactive inhibition on verbal learning, a
within single subject will be used, in order to rule out individual differences between subjects.
The experiment is to be conducted in 2 parts and the same subject will be used in both the
sessions. The method of complete presentation will be used and the method of active recall will
be employed for both the sessions.

Method

Objective- To Measure the effect of retroactive inhibition on the adult participant.

Hypothesis :
The number of correct recalls in List C will be higher than the number of correct recalls in List A
due to interpolation.

Material
i. 3 lists of 10, three-lettered nonsense syllables.
ii. Pencil
iii. Record Sheet
iv. Introspective sheet
v. Stopwatch

Variables-
a) Independent variable
Nature of interpolated activity
b) Dependent variable
Amount of retroactive inhibition (number of syllables correctly recalled in both the test
conditions)
c) Controls
I. Both lists must contain equal number of words i.e. 10.
II. Environmental factors – light and fan must be controlled.
III. The time interval between Session 1 and Session 2 should be sufficient i.e. 5 minutes.
IV.The same subject needs to work in both the conditions so as to control individual
differences of learners.
V. The time interval between learning of List A and recall of List A should be same as
learning of List C and recall of List C.
VI. Each item on the list should be a nonsense syllable, 3-lettered and following a pattern of
consonant-vowel-consonant.
VII. No feedback should be given during the experiment.
VIII. All electronic gadgets should be kept aside during the practical.
IX. Interpolated activity for session 1 needs to be moderately similar to original activity
X. Recall of both the material should have the same time duration (1 minute) and method
(free recall).
XI. Subject activity in session 2 during the rest period should be controlled, so that the
subject does not rehearse the learning of nonsense syllables.

SAMPLE PROFILE

Gender: female
Age:40
Occupation: co-operate sector employee

SCORING METHOD

i. The correct number of responses (final recall in the test) are to be counted for both the
sessions separately and correct recall is to be converted into percentage.
ii. Loss of recall is to be calculated using the following formula: Loss of recall = number of
correct recalls in List A – number of correct recalls in list C

Procedure

Rapport formation
Sample01: The subject and the experimenter were familiar with each other with that , subject
was very friendly and forthright which made the building of rapport seems effortless ,As soon as
the subject got comfortable a consent form was signed by them and only then the conduction of
experiment begun

INSTRUCTIONS
“This is going to be a long experiment, divided into 4 sessions. Prior to each session, you will be
provided with instructions.”
Session 1 List A
“You will be given a list of string of letters. Your task is to read the string of letters carefully and
try to memorize them. For this you will be given 30 seconds. After that, you have to try and
recall as many strings of letters as you can in a 1-minute period. This will continue till you have
succeeded in correctly recalling the whole list.”
Session 2 List B
“You will be given another list of string of letters. Your task will remain same as previous session
where you have to read the string of letters carefully and try to memorize them. For this you will
be given 30 seconds. After that, you have to try and recall as many strings of letters as you can
in a 1-minute period. This will continue till you have succeeded in correctly recalling the whole
list.
You are now required to recall as many strings of letters you can remember from List A, which
was the first list given to you. You will be given 1 minute for this.
We will now have a 5-minute break and thereafter resume session 3.”
Session 3 List C
“You will be given 1 more list of string of letters. Your task will remain same as previous session
where you have to read the string of letters carefully and try to memorize them. For this you will
be given 30 seconds. After that, you have to try and recall as many strings of letters as you can
in a 1-minute period. This will continue till you have succeeded in correctly recalling the whole
list.
You can now take a break of 4 minutes after which we will resume session 4.”
You are now required to recall as many strings of letters to remember from List C, which was
the last list given to you.”

Actual procedure:
The subject was beseated in a quite room , and was given a sheet and pen, then she was
instructed that list of words would be displayed to her in laptop and to memorize it she was
given 30 seconds. In session1 , listA was shown to her for 30 seconds and soon after she was
given 1 minute to recall them , same procedure took place for listB that is session2 , at that
instant after the completion of listB subject was asked to recall listA and for that 1 minute was
given to her . Following the instructions 5 minutes break was alloted prior to session3 . Later in
sesssion3 subject was given listC same time interval was given for memorizing n recalling .
Soon after accomplishing the session3 a 4 minute break was given prior to session4 ,
thenceforth the subject was asked to recall listC
Again which was the last list given to her . Procedure took place as per the instructions.

Introspective report
1. Were you physically and mentally prepared for this experiment?

Ans: Except being physically tired a little i was prepared for the experiment

2. What list was easier to learn?

Ans: ListC was easier to learn

3. Which list was easier to recall, List A or List C? Why?

Ans: ListC was easier to recall because a break was alloted prior to it abd no other list were
given soon after it hence it was easy to learn

4. Have you been a subject to any learning experiment where a string of alphabets has been
used? If yes, how did it help you in today’s experiment?

Ans :No!

Results

Qualitative result –

According to subjects introspective report, recalling listC was easier then the listA as prior to
listC break was given and no other list were displayed before listC and hence made it easy for
subject to recall listC more accurately then the listA .

Quantitative result –

Table 1: Table showing correct number of responses and percentage for List A and List
C

LIST CORRECT NO.OF PERCENTILE OF CORRECT

RESPONSES RESPONSES

LISTA 2 20%

LISCTC 7 70%

Experimental session A

The correct number of responses = 2

The percentage of correct number of responses = 20%

Control session C
 The correct number of responses = 7

The percentage of correct number of responses = 70%

Loss of Recall

Loss of recall = number of correct recalls in List A – number of correct recalls in list C

Loss of recall = -5

DISCUSSION The null hypothesis in this experiment, that is, there will be significant
difference in the recall of List A and List C is retained. This experiment was conducted in 4
sessions in session1 and 2 , listA andB was given and soon after the completion of listB subject
was asked to recall listA . As the subject wasnt aware of about the future requirement of
recalling the List A again and an interference of listB might have affected her memorizing , for
session3 and 4 the subject was asked to recall listC with only differences of time , as session 4
was conducted 4 minute later after the the session3 . Subject showed better accuracy in recalling
listC than listA .

CONCLUSION We have conducted an experiment on retroactive inhibition on an adult

participant under within subject design , in the analysis of it and its relation to forgetting one of
the relationships most in need of precise determination is that between the amount and locus of
the retroactive inhibition and the degree of learning of the interpolated activity. A knowledge of
this relationship is essential to the interpretation of many other studies of retroactive
inhibition,By the time the next activity begins, this process has already been completed, and
therefore we are dealing not with an influence on the process itself, but only on the “traces”
resulting from the memorization. From the conduction of this exper we can conclude that free
recalling of listC was easy then listA due to no interference and hence we can state that the
hypothesis was proven affirmative
 Limitations

● Environmental conditions like noise, light, temperature could not be controlled.

● The experiment was conducted on the female subject and thus the results could not be
generalised on male population.
● The experiment was done on a single subject; thus, the results could not be generalised
on all.
● Since the experiment was conducted in experimenter’s house and not in laboratory
setting, there may be some factors which could have affect the subject’s performance.
● The subject wasn’t informed about the future requirement of recalling the List A again
which might have affected his memorizing. So, it cannot be said that less no. of correct
recalls of List A were due to retroactive inhibition only.
● The subject took more trials to learn the List C and when learning he had an idea that it
could be asked to recall later which might also be resulted in more number of correct
responses for List C as compared to List A.
● The experiment conducted on a student and thus the results could not be applied to all
the age groups and across all population.

Implications

● In Advertising: It has been demonstrated that recall will be lower when consumers have
afterwards seen an ad for a competing brand in the same product class. Exposure to later
similar advertisements does not cause interference for consumers when brands are rated
on purchasing likelihood. This shows that information processing objective can moderate
the effects of interference of competitive advertising. Competitive brand advertising not
only interferes with consumer recall of advertising in the past but also interferes with
learning new distinctive brand information in the future.
● Interference theory can have a number of real-world applications. From a practical,
everyday standpoint, interference theory suggests that one of the best ways to improve
your memory for something is to make it stand out. If you are trying to remember
something and want to avoid the effects of interference, look for a way to add novelty.
Making up a song, rhyme, or mnemonic is
one way to help make what you are studying stand out in your memory. By making the material

● memorable and less similar to other memories, it may become easier to recall. Regular
practice sessions can also be useful for promoting overlearning and reducing the
probability that new memories will interfere with what you are learning now.
● Retroactive inhibition is the negative effect of an activity following memorization on the
retention of the material memorized. If memorization is followed by other activity or
other material’s memorization, recall of the material may not be as complete as when the
memorization is followed by rest.
● So from the experiment it can be said for the implication part that retrospective inhibition
effected the subject’s recalling of the list. Here if learning or memorization is followed by
rest the subject may recall more than if recall the same after some interpolated activity.
Thus the subject may learn something and then take a rest so that he can remember better.

References

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