Moishe can remember only the first two items and the last two items on the grocery list that his wife just read to him over the phone. The other five items in between are gone. This is an example of the _____________
A) encoding specificity effect.
B) serial position effect.
C) TOT effect.
D) reintegrative effect.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The serial position effect is the tendency to remember items at the beginning and end of a list better than items in the middle. This is what is happening in the scenario described. The encoding specificity effect refers to the phenomenon where memory is improved when information available at encoding is also available at retrieval. The TOT effect refers to the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon, where a person knows that they know a word, but they are unable to retrieve it. The reintegrative effect refers to the phenomenon where memory improves when items are presented in a meaningful or organized way.

Moishe Can Remember Only the First Two Items and the Last