Fletcher took 4 years of German in high school.However, Fletcher doesn't know anyone who speaks German, and he won't have any chance to practice his vocabulary now that he has finished school.Based on the results from Ebbinghaus' studies, which investigated the typical pattern of forgetting, if Fletcher's memory for German vocabulary is tested a number of times over the next few years, you should predict that:
A)very few of the words will be forgotten early, but later on there will be a rapid decline in the number of words he is able to accurately recall
B)there will be a constant steady decline in the number of words he is able to accurately recall
C)most of the words will be forgotten early, and there will continue to be a slow decline in the number of words he is able to accurately recall
D)most of the words will be forgotten early, but later there will be a slow steady increase in the words he is able to accurately recall

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Ebbinghaus' studies showed that the greatest amount of forgetting occurs shortly after learning, and then the rate of forgetting slows down over time. Since Fletcher has no opportunity to practice his German vocabulary, it is likely that most of the words will be forgotten early, and there will continue to be a slow decline in the number of words he is able to accurately recall. Therefore, option C is the best choice.

Fletcher Took 4 Years of German in High School