Interference Effects

Interference effects occur when two or more processes, either perceptual or cognitive conflict with one another. Perceptual and cognitive processes occur separately from each other,in different parts of the brain, then sends the information recieved to working memory, where it can then be interpreted. When the information entering the brain matches up with the working memory a quick and successful interpretation is made resulting in good performance. When the information entering the brain doesn't match up with the working memory, interference occurs and extra processing of the information is needed. The additional time needed to process the information often results in poor performance. There are several kinds of interference effects, some are perceptual and some are cognitive. Two perceptual interferences are Stroop interference, where an irrelevant piece of information interferes with the relevant information, and Garner interference, where an irrelevant variation of information conflicts with the processing of the relevant information. Two cognitive interferences are Proactive interference, where existing memories interfere with learning, and Retroactive interference where learning interferes with existing memories.

An example of Stroop interference would be having a triangular stop button on a sterio system.