Abstract
Preference for novel photographs of faces was tested in 5- to 7-month-old infants following three different proactive interfering conditions that replicated those in which retroactive interference had previously been demonstrated by Fagan (1973). One group of infants was presented with three successive presentations of upside-down caricatures of faces prior to the familiarization and novelty test, whereas the other two groups experienced three successive presentations of either upside-down or upright photographs of faces. Consistent with demonstrations of retroactive interference, preference for novelty existed following presentation of the rotated caricatures but not following rotated photographs. However, contrary to the effects due to retroaction, upright photographs did not lead to a preference for novelty. This differential disruption of preference for novelty is discussed as indicating either the existence of proactive interference in which the effects of perceptual similarity are different from those of retroaction, or the presence of a differential release from proactive interference that does not operate in retroaction.
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References
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Partial support for the current research was provided by the Franklin and Marshall Committee on Grants and the Hackmann Scholar Summer Research Program administered by Franklin and Marshall. The authors extend their appreciation to Kenneth Ralph, Director of Information and Consultation for the Lancaster County Office of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and to Donna Crosby, Director of the Lancaster County Mental Health Association, for their assistance in locating infants. Finally, appreciation is extended to all parents who volunteered their infants.
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Tyrrell, D.J., Snowman, L.G., Beier, J.A. et al. Proactive interference in infant recognition memory. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 28, 188–190 (1990). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03333999
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03333999