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Related Experiment Video

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Using Practice Testing, Public Speaking, and Source Monitoring to Examine the Influences of Learning Strategies and Stress on Episodic Memory

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Test delay and change awareness moderate retroactive and proactive memory effects.

Samuel W Cox¹, Colleen M Kelley², James W Antony³

¹Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 559 Eberhart Building, PO Box 26170, Greensboro, NC, 27402, USA. swcox@uncg.edu.

Memory & Cognition

|June 18, 2026

Summary

Memory retrieval can be influenced by similar experiences, impacting recall differently over time. Understanding change awareness is key to explaining retroactive and proactive memory effects.

Keywords:

Facilitation Integration Interference Reminding Study-phase retrieval

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Memory Research

Background:

Similar experiences can modulate memory consolidation and retrieval.
Retroactive and proactive memory effects are well-documented phenomena.
Existing research often utilizes A-B, A-D tasks to study these memory effects.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the role of change awareness in retroactive and proactive memory effects.
To examine how temporal factors influence memory interference and facilitation.
To explore the interplay between retrieval practice, integrative encoding, and memory performance.

Main Methods:

Four experiments employing A-B, A-D tasks were conducted.
Participants studied word pairs across two lists with changed responses.
Measures of change awareness and response interdependence were incorporated.

Main Results:

Retroactive interference was observed on immediate tests, while retroactive facilitation occurred on delayed tests when change awareness was present.
Proactive interference was greater on delayed tests compared to immediate tests.
Response interdependence indicated that correct recall was linked to recognizing response changes.

Conclusions:

Temporal dynamics of memory interference are influenced by trace accessibility and integrative encoding.
Change awareness plays a crucial role in mitigating proactive interference and enabling retroactive facilitation.
Retrieval practice can enhance memory accessibility and promote cross-episode integration, impacting memory performance over time.