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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.
Motivated forgetting is a theorized psychological behavior in which people may forget unwanted memories, either consciously or unconsciously. [1] It is an example of a defence mechanism, since these are unconscious or conscious coping techniques used to reduce anxiety arising from unacceptable or potentially harmful impulses thus it can be a defence mechanism in some ways. [2]
Another explanation for why we forget learned information is the decay of information. This concept determines the impermanence of memory storage as an explanation for forgetting. [1] Decay theory posits that the process of forgetting is due to the inevitable fading of memory traces over time. [4]
The results determined that intrinsic stress was facilitated by memory consolidation process and extrinsic stress was determined to be heterogeneous in regard to memory consolidation. [ clarification needed ] Researchers found that high stress conditions were a good representative of the effect that extrinsic stress can cause on memory functioning.
Some researchers believe that these two methods result in different types of forgetting. According to these researchers, the list method results in inhibition of the forgotten words, [ 25 ] but the item method results in some words being remembered better than the others, without a specific relation to forgetting.
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 ]
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.
Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) is a memory phenomenon where remembering causes forgetting of other information in memory. The phenomenon was first demonstrated in 1994, although the concept of RIF has been previously discussed in the context of retrieval inhibition .