Suppose you have been studying your French vocabulary words for several hours and are making many mistakes. You switch to reviewing the new terms for your upcoming biology test, and your per-formance is noticeably better. What phenomena are you experiencing?

The correct answer is release from proactive interference.

There are two phenomena that can explain forgetfulness: retroactive and proactive interference. The retroactive happens when we have information saved and, later, we receive new, more relevant information. In this case, the nervous system gives priority to the second. Proactive interference is the opposite phenomenon

Proactive interference occurs when old memories hinder the formation of new memories.