Editing Interference theory (section)

===Theories===
The phenomenon of retroactive interference is highly significant in the study of memory as it has sparked a historical and ongoing debate in regards to whether the process of forgetting is due to the interference of other competing stimuli, or rather the unlearning of the forgotten material. The important conclusion one may gain from RI is that "forgetting is not simply a failure or weakness of the memory system" (Bjork, 1992), but rather an integral part of our stored knowledge repertoire. Although modern cognitive researchers continue to debate the actual causes of forgetting (e.g., competition vs. unlearning), retroactive interference implies a general understanding that additional underlying processes play a role in memory.

====Competition====
A standard explanation for the cause of RI is Competition. New associations compete with older associations and the more recent association would win out making it impossible to remember earlier associations. Spontaneous Recovery in MFR supports the claim of competition since after a rest period participants spontaneously remembered original pair associations that they were not able to remember right after the second test.<ref name="Briggs"/>

====Associative unlearning====
The associative unlearning hypothesis explains  RI by saying that new associations replace the old associations in memory causing the participant to forget the initial associations. Barnes and Underwood argued that A<sub> I </sub>-C<sub> I </sub> responses still outnumber A<sub> I </sub>-B<sub> I </sub> responses after the delay period supports the Associative Unlearning Hypothesis over Competition.<ref name="barns"/>