The way our brains remember and organize information is a pretty complex process and there are several factors in how we remember, and even how we forget. One example of forgetting is interference. Interference can be proactive, meaning information learned in the past interferes with information learned in the future, or retroactive, meaning information learned in the future interferes with information learned in the past. The image below helps explain the difference between these processes.
In proactive interference, the student has previously learned Spanish and is currently attempting to learn French. Their past of learning Spanish is making it harder for them to recall the French words that they’re trying to memorize and understand. But, in retroactive interference, since the student is currently learning French, it makes it harder for them to recall information in the past, which is their knowledge of Spanish.
I have noticed an example of interference in my life when I was in middle school and high school. Throughout middle school and high school, I danced and each spring we would have a recital. After this lesson on interference, I realized that throughout this time period, I was experiencing proactive interference. While learning new dances, I remember I would sometimes mess up the choreography by using moves that I previously learned in a dance a or two year prior. This was an ongoing cycle throughout my dance career. This shows how the past information (the old dance moves) were affecting my ability to remember the present information (the new dance moves).
While I was researching these topics online, I came across a clever, and pretty funny, example of retroactive inference. One article stated that when you call your new boyfriend or girlfriend by your ex boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s name, you are experiencing a retroactive interference. This shows how information that is currently being learned (new boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s name) is interrupted by information from the past (the old boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s name).
Sources:
“Proactive and Retroactive Interference: Psychology.” tutor2u,
https://www.tutor2u.net/psychology/reference/proactive-and-retroactive-interference.