Concept · Cognitive Bias: Memory biases and distortions
Retroactive interference
Origin: McGeoch, 1932
Biological Parallel
Territorial animals learning new boundaries overwrite old territorial maps—recent information updates existing models because current patterns predict future encounters better than outdated ones. Retroactive interference is adaptive updating: new learning actively suppresses old memories when they cover the same domain, preventing confusion between past and present states. This is intelligent forgetting: the brain doesn't accumulate every version; it replaces obsolete patterns with current ones.