Final answer:
The student's struggle to remember the French word for red after learning it in Spanish is an example of retroactive interference, which is when new information hinders recall of older knowledge. Retroactive interference along with proactive interference is a common occurrence in learning and memory, especially when dealing with multiple languages.
Step-by-step explanation:
The inability to remember the French word for "red" after studying Spanish and remembering the Spanish equivalent "rojo" is an example of retroactive interference, a concept within the field of psychology that pertains to memory and learning.
Retroactive interference occurs when newly learned information hinders the retrieval of older information. In this scenario, learning the Spanish word for red may have disrupted the recall of the French word for the same color. It demonstrates how our minds can struggle to hold onto earlier learned material when new, similar information is learned; this is a common challenge when someone is bilingual or learning multiple languages. Conversely, proactive interference is when old information interferes with the learning of new information.
To minimize such interference, it's beneficial to practice both languages regularly, thereby reinforcing both the old and new information within our long-term memory. This takes advantage of the relearning effect, which is the ability to learn information faster upon subsequent exposures, indicating that some of the original learning is retained despite initial forgetting.