AAttention
BForgetting
CTeaching
DPerception
Answer:
B. Forgetting
Read Explanation:
Retroactive and Proactive interference are core concepts within the Interference Theory of Forgetting.
This theory suggests that forgetting occurs not because the memory trace has simply disappeared, but because other memories "interfere" with our ability to retrieve the correct information.
1. Proactive Interference (Forward-acting)
This happens when old information prevents you from remembering new information.
Example: You get a new phone number, but when someone asks for it, you accidentally give them your old number. The old memory is interfering with the new one.
2. Retroactive Interference (Backward-acting)
This happens when new information prevents you from remembering old information.
Example: You learn to drive a manual car after years of driving an automatic. Later, when you try to drive an automatic again, you keep reaching for a gear shift that isn't there. The new habit is interfering with the old one.
Type | What is forgotten? | Cause of Forgetting |
Proactive | The New Information | The Old Memory |
Retroactive | The Old Information | The New Memory |
Attention: While a lack of attention can lead to poor encoding (meaning the information never entered your memory), interference happens to information that has already been stored.
Teaching: While teachers must be aware of interference (to avoid teaching two very similar, confusing concepts back-to-back), the terms themselves describe a psychological process of memory loss.
Perception: Perception is the process of interpreting sensory information. Interference is a failure of retrieval from the long-term memory.