20+-+Question

Name: Mackenzie Jordan


Proactive interference happens when you are unable to remember newer information because previously learned information inhibits the encoding process. Thus if you had one class early in the day, and then one later, you might find it difficult to remember what you learned in your later class, instead you continually recall what you learned earlier. Retroactive interference works the opposite way, meaning that learning new information causes you to forget things learned previously. This would happen if the information you learned in your later class caused you to forget the lesson from your previous class.

CITATIONS: Myers, David G. Psychology. 8th ed. New York: Worth, 2007. Print

Darby, Kevin, and Vladimir Sloutsky. "Proactive and Retroactive Interference Effects in Development." //Proactive and Retroactive Interference Effects in Development // (n.d.): n. pag. //Mind Modeling //. Web.

Comment by Micah: Good job concisely explaining the difference between proactive and retroactive interference, Mackenzie! I like the example the textbook, and you used, as it is simple and very relatable as a student. One piece of information I would have added for greater understanding of the topic is how interference, both proactive and retroactive, happens more often when the memories and potential memories are similar. For instance, if you memorized a phone number earlier in the day, and then memorized another 5 hours later, you would most likely find it much more difficult to remember the first number learned than if you memorized a sentence, memorized a number 5 hours later and then were asked to recall the sentence.

Citation:

McLeod, Saul. "Forgetting | Simply Psychology." //Forgetting | Simply Psychology //. Simply Psychology, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2015.