In high school, Deanna took three years of Spanish. Upon enrolling in college ten years later, she registered for a remedial French course. When required to speak in French during a class discussion with her teacher and classmates, Deanna frequently responds with Spanish words instead of French words. This is one example of

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Proactive interference occurs when previously learned information (in this case, Spanish vocabulary) interferes with the ability to learn and recall new information (French vocabulary). This can happen when the two sets of information are similar, and can be particularly pronounced if the learned information was recently acquired or is particularly strong in memory.

In High School, Deanna Took Three Years of Spanish