Proactive And Retroactive Interference

Question 1

Proactive interference

Answer 1

Old information stored in the LTM interferes with the learning of information

Question 2

Retroactive interference

Answer 2

Occurs when the learning of new information interferes with the recall of old information

Question 3

Proactive Interference (AO1)

Answer 3

long-term memory, in an experiment that resembles Peterson and Peterson (1959).

Participants were presented with meaningless three-letter consonant trigrams (for example, THG) at different intervals (3, 6, 9 second, etc). To prevent rehearsal the participants had to count backwards in threes before recalling.

Keppel and Underwood found that participants typically remembered the trigrams that were presented first, irrespective of the interval length.

They concluded that the results suggest proactive interference occurred, as memory for the earlier consonants, which had transferred to long-term memory, was interfering with the memory for new consonants, due to the similarity of the information presented.

Question 4

Provide an example of Retroactive interference

Answer 4

For example, once you have learned a new mobile number, it is often very difficult to recall your old number.

Question 5

Provide an example of Proactive interference

Answer 5

Example of proactive interference is when you try to remember a new mobile phone number and your memory for your old number disrupts your attempts to remember this new information.