Question

Ryan uses a combination lock to secure his bike on campus, but he often misplaces his lock when he gets home. Each time he loses a lock, he has to replace it. Each time he buys a new lock, he has to memorize a new combo. Recently, Ryan found his original lock but had to throw it away because he could not remember the combo. Ryan's inability to remember the combo of his oldest lock is a good example of:

a) Retroactive interference
b) Proactive interference
c) Short-term memory loss
d) Encoding failure

Answer 1

Retroactive interference is the reason why Ryan cannot remember the combo of his oldest lock.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ryan's inability to remember the combo of his oldest lock is a good example of retroactive interference. Retroactive interference occurs when information learned more recently hinders the recall of older information. In this case, Ryan's new lock combo interfered with his ability to remember the combo for his original lock. It is important to note that retroactive interference can affect memory recall in various contexts, not just in the case of a lock combination.