Suppose that you study first for a test in U.S. history and then for a test in the politics of the Cold War. The next morning you take the history test first and you answer a question about U.S.‒Soviet relations during World War II with information that actually applies to U.S.‒Soviet relations during the Cold War. This is caused by
A) proactive interference.
B) retroactive interference.
C) encoding failure.
D) decay of memory traces for world history.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Retroactive interference occurs when new information interferes with the ability to recall older information. In this scenario, studying for the Cold War test (new information) interfered with recalling information for the U.S. history test (older information).

Suppose That You Study First for a Test in U