Differentiate between retroactive and proactive interference in memory. How do they account for forgetting?
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
Retroactive interference and proactive interference are two types of interference that can affect memory, leading to forgetting.
Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the recall of previously learned information. In other words, recent experiences or knowledge make it harder to remember older information. For example, if you learn a new phone number and then forget the old one, retroactive interference is at play. The newer information (the new phone number) “disrupts” the retrieval of the older memory (the old phone number). This type of interference typically happens when the new information is similar to the older information, making it harder to differentiate between the two.
Proactive interference, on the other hand, happens when older information interferes with the ability to learn or recall new information. Essentially, what you already know can get in the way of learning something new. For instance, if you have used the same password for years and then try to create a new one, you may find it difficult to remember the new password because your brain keeps retrieving the old one. The older memory (the old password) “interferes” with the learning of the new one.
Both types of interference explain why we sometimes forget things. In the case of retroactive interference, the brain struggles to retrieve older memories because new, similar information “crowds them out.” In proactive interference, the brain faces difficulty in storing or retrieving new memories because old memories are already well-established and dominant in our cognitive processes. The extent to which each type of interference occurs can depend on factors like the similarity between old and new information and the time elapsed between learning or encoding the information. Essentially, both retroactive and proactive interference highlight the limits of our memory system and the complex nature of how we retain and forget information.