How does the 'interference' mechanism explain forgetting in WMM?

• A. Forgetting occurs only due to decay over time
• B. Similar or competing items disrupt maintenance in a subsystem or CE; EB's bindings can also be overwhelmed, leading to forgetting
• C. Interference affects long-term memory exclusively
• D. Interference strengthens memory traces through repetition

Answer: (B)

Interference explains forgetting in the Working Memory Model by showing that keeping items active relies on limited, shared resources. When similar or competing items occupy a subsystem, they disrupt rehearsal and maintenance, so the memory trace becomes confused or overwritten. In the phonological loop, for example, similar-sounding items can get mixed up during rehearsal, leading to forgetting. In the visuospatial sketchpad, overlapping spatial features can interfere with keeping locations or visual details in mind. The episodic buffer also has to bind different pieces of information into coherent episodes; when there are many bindings or highly similar items, these bindings can become overwhelmed, causing forgetting or scrambled representations. This view contrasts with decay over time or forgetting only in long-term memory, and it doesn’t support that repetition strengthens forgetting.