Question

Which of the following would provide the best evidence for pro-active interference?

a) you were trying to remember the name of a song that your friend was talking about but all you could think about was the song stuck in your head from the previous evening.
b) individuals who were required to memorize a list of words and answer arithmetic questions had worse memory performance for the list in comparison to individuals who only had to memorize the list.
c) throughout your whole childhood you imagined what disneyland was like. however, once you finally went there, you could no longer recall what you used to think it was like.
d) juan was in an experiment involving the memorization of a number of different novel object names. by the end of the day, however, he could not recall much of what he had learnt.

Answer 1

The best evidence for proactive interference is when past memories or information interfere with the ability to recall new experiences or information, as illustrated by option c) related to childhood memories of Disneyland being obscured by an actual visit to the park. The correct option is c.

Step-by-step explanation:

The best evidence for proactive interference is represented by option c) throughout your whole childhood you imagined what Disneyland was like. however, once you finally went there, you could no longer recall what you used to think it was like.

This example clearly shows how old information hinders the recall of newly learned information, which is the essence of proactive interference.

The past imaginations of Disneyland interfere with the memory of the actual experience. Proactive interference refers to when older memory traces hinder the recall or learning of new information. It is different from retroactive interference, which occurs when new information disrupts the recall of older information.

Further understanding proactive interference can be assisted by contrasting this process with procedural memory, which is a type of long-term memory for making skilled actions.

Procedural memory is generally less susceptible to proactive interference because it is related to the mastery of a skill through repetition and practice, such as how to brush your teeth or how to drive a car, rather than the recall of specific facts or figures which can be more easily confused with previously learned information. The correct option is c.