Lesson 4.1.2.3

4.1.2.3 Explanations for forgetting: interference and retrieval failure Quiz: AQA Psychology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 4.1.2.3, Explanations for forgetting: interference and retrieval failure: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Psychology (7182), Unit 1: Introductory topics in Psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. Proactive interference occurs when which of these happens?

    • Newer learned information interferes with the recall of older information
    • Older learned information interferes with the recall of newer information
    • Information is lost from the sensory register within a fraction of a second
    • Information is lost because it is not matched by a suitable retrieval cue

  2. Retroactive interference occurs when which of these happens?

    • Old information blocks the learning of new information, so the later material cannot be stored properly at all
    • New information interferes with the recall of older information already stored
    • Cues present at learning are missing at recall, so the stored material cannot be accessed by the person later
    • Information decays over time without any interference, so the loss is caused entirely by the passage of time

  3. Retrieval failure is best defined as forgetting caused by which of these?

    • The decay of memory traces over time
    • Similar material learned earlier blocking recall
    • A lack of attention at the time of learning
    • The absence of the cues needed to access stored information

  4. Which condition is most likely to produce interference between two sets of learned material?

    • The two sets were learned with a long gap between them
    • The two sets are similar in content, so they compete for recall
    • The two sets are very different in content, so they are kept apart
    • The two sets were learned in different rooms from where recall takes place

  5. Tulving and Pearlstone (1966) found that recall of words improved when participants were given which of these at recall?

    • Feedback after each word was recalled
    • The words presented in alphabetical order
    • Extra time to study the list before recall
    • Category names as cues

  6. Which of these is the best example of retrieval failure rather than interference?

    • A student forgets the title because they learned several similar film titles that week
    • A student forgets the title because it faded from memory after a month
    • A student recalls the title but confuses it with a similarly named film watched earlier
    • A student cannot name a film unprompted but recalls its title when shown the poster

  7. A student remembers a fact in a classroom but cannot recall it in the exam hall. Which explanation fits best?

    • Retroactive interference, because the exam hall is new information
    • Decay, because the fact has been lost from the sensory register
    • Proactive interference, because old classroom knowledge blocks the fact
    • Retrieval failure, because the cues from the classroom are missing in the exam hall

  8. A learner studies Spanish vocabulary, then French vocabulary, and finds the Spanish words harder to recall later. Which explanation fits best?

    • Proactive interference, because the older Spanish words block recall of the newer French words
    • Retroactive interference, because the newer French words disrupt recall of the older Spanish words
    • Retrieval failure, because the Spanish cues are absent in France
    • Decay, because the Spanish words have simply faded with time

  9. Group A learns list X and then list Y. Group B learns only list Y. Group A recalls list Y less well than group B. What does this show?

    • Retrieval failure, because group A had fewer retrieval cues for list Y
    • Proactive interference, because earlier learning of list X disrupts recall of list Y
    • Decay, because group A waited longer before recall
    • Retroactive interference, because list Y disrupts recall of list X

  10. Which of these is an example of a retrieval cue that could reduce retrieval failure?

    • Being in the same room where the information was learned
    • Recalling the information many years later
    • Learning a larger number of items in a single session
    • Studying the material in a noisy environment

  11. In an experiment, participants recall 24 of 40 words in free recall and 34 of 40 words in cued recall. What is the difference between the two conditions in percentage points?

    • 25 percentage points
    • 15 percentage points
    • 10 percentage points
    • 34 percentage points

  12. Which evaluation point applies to much of the research on interference?

    • Much of the evidence comes from artificial lab tasks, such as learning word lists
    • The evidence shows that interference only affects younger children
    • The evidence is based entirely on case studies of people with brain damage
    • The evidence shows that interference cannot be studied in a laboratory at all

  13. Which limitation applies to explaining all forgetting in terms of retrieval failure?

    • It does not explain forgetting when the right cues are present but the memory is still not recalled
    • It shows that all forgetting is caused by interference, so no other explanation of forgetting is needed in psychology
    • It cannot explain any forgetting in cued recall tasks, because cues always help people recall every item they learned
    • It applies only to information stored in the sensory register, which decays within a fraction of a second of exposure

  14. Which finding would best support the view that interference is a better explanation of forgetting than simple decay?

    • Forgetting increases with time even when no other material is learned, showing that decay alone explains all loss
    • Forgetting is greater when similar material is learned before or after the target material
    • Forgetting only happens when the person is tired or unwell, so the material itself has no influence on what is lost
    • Forgetting is the same whatever material is learned, since the amount forgotten depends only on how much time has passed

  15. Participants who study in a room and are tested in the same room recall more than those tested in a different room. Which explanation best fits this result?

    • Retrieval failure, because matching cues in the same room improve access to memories
    • Retroactive interference, because the second room adds new information
    • Decay, because the memories fade more quickly in a new room
    • Proactive interference, because the first room blocks recall in the second room

  16. A participant learns list A and then list B. Which result would show that proactive interference is stronger than retroactive interference?

    • Learning list A first has no effect on the recall of list B
    • Learning list A first reduces recall of list B more than learning list B first reduces recall of list A
    • Learning list B first reduces recall of list A more than learning list A first reduces recall of list B
    • Both orders produce identical recall in every case

  17. A person can recall a memory only when a particular smell is present. Which explanation is best supported?

    • Interference, because another memory blocks access to the target memory, which is why the smell has no effect on recall
    • Retrieval failure, because the memory is stored but recall depends on a cue being present
    • Decay, because the memory has faded completely from storage after a long delay, and the cue no longer makes any difference
    • Sensory overload, because the smell overwhelmed the memory store, so the target memory was lost before it could be stored

  18. Which situation best illustrates the value of cued recall over free recall?

    • A student recalls more when given category names as prompts than when asked to list words freely
    • A student recalls less when given category prompts than when asked to list words freely
    • A student recalls more when a list is presented with no categories
    • A student recalls the same amount with or without prompts because cues have no effect

  19. Which of the following is NOT a cause of interference?

    • The sensory register decaying within a fraction of a second
    • Competing items that share the same retrieval route
    • Old learning that is similar to new material
    • New learning that is similar to old material

  20. A person forgets their new phone number and keeps dialling the old one. Which type of interference best explains this?

    • Decay, because the new number has faded from memory
    • Retrieval failure, because the cues for the new number are missing
    • Retroactive interference, because the new number interferes with recall of the old one
    • Proactive interference, because the old number interferes with recall of the new one

All AQA Psychology quizzes