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These psychologists applied the concept of inhibition (and interference) to early theories of learning and forgetting. [5] Starting in 1894, German scientists Muller and Shumann conducted empirical studies that demonstrated how learning a second list of items interfered with memory of the first list. [ 5 ]
Of the two effects of interference theory, proactive interference is the less common and less problematic type of interference compared to retroactive interference. [1] Previously, it had been hypothesized that forgetting working memories would be nonexistent if not for proactive interference.
Interference theory provides another explanation for the forgetting of learned information. New memories interfere with old memories, and limits our ability to recall these over time. [5] There are two types of interference; retroactive and proactive. [4]
When attention is divided, less activity in the lower left frontal lobe diminishes the ability for elaborative memory encoding to take place, and results in absentminded forgetting. More recent research has shown that divided attention also leads to less hippocampal involvement in encoding. [5]
The “spacing effect” refers to a phenomenon whereby learning, or the creation of a memory, occurs more effectively when information, or exposure to a stimulus, is spaced out.
Catastrophic interference, also known as catastrophic forgetting, is the tendency of an artificial neural network to abruptly and drastically forget previously learned information upon learning new information. [1] [2] Neural networks are an important part of the connectionist approach to cognitive science.
Although interference can lead to forgetting, it is important to keep in mind that there are situations when old information can facilitate learning of new information. Knowing Latin, for instance, can help an individual learn a related language such as French – this phenomenon is known as positive transfer.
The effects of stress on memory include interference with a person's capacity to encode memory and the ability to retrieve information. [1] [2] Stimuli, like stress, improved memory when it was related to learning the subject. [3] During times of stress, the body reacts by secreting stress hormones into the bloodstream.