Austin can't remember Jack Smith's name because he wasn't paying attention when Jack was formally introduced. Austin's poor memory is best explained in terms of:

A) storage decay.

B) proactive interference.

C) encoding failure

D) retroactive interference.

E) source amnesia

Austin's poor memory is best explained in terms of C. encoding failure.

Explanation:

Encoding is understood as the brain's ability to store memories and be able to remember them later.

Encoding failure occurs when the brain cannot create a memory link so the individual probably can't remember something specific in the future. It mostly occurs because of substance abuse or trauma, amongst others.

In this case, Austin was not paying attention when Jack Smith was introduced so his brain did not create a memory link about his name which explains Austin's poor memory.