"Cat food, cola, toothpaste." Ned's roommate recites items over the phone as he throws his books in the backseat and gets into his car. Ned is supposed to stop at the store on the way home. The roommate continues to list a few more items. Finally, he wraps up, "Coffee creamer, spaghetti sauce, dish soap, and ice tea mix." Ned forgets a couple of things, but he does get the cat food, cola, and toothpaste. His memory for these items reflects the _____ effect.
A)item order
B)recency
C)serial memory
D)primacy

Question

"Cat food, cola, toothpaste." Ned's roommate recites items over the phone as he throws his books in the backseat and gets into his car. Ned is supposed to stop at the store on the way home. The roommate continues to list a few more items. Finally, he wraps up, "Coffee creamer, spaghetti sauce, dish soap, and ice tea mix." Ned forgets a couple of things, but he does get the cat food, cola, and toothpaste. His memory for these items reflects the _____ effect. 
A)item order
B)recency
C)serial memory
D)primacy

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The primacy effect refers to the phenomenon where people are more likely to remember items that were presented first in a list. In this scenario, Ned remembered the first few items listed by his roommate (cat food, cola, toothpaste), indicating that he experienced the primacy effect.

"Cat Food, Cola, Toothpaste