Chase and Simon's research compared memory of chess masters and beginners for the position of game pieces on sample chess boards.They found that the chess master remembered positions better when the arrangement of the pieces was consistent with a real game but not when the pieces were randomly placed.The significance of this finding was that
A) experts show larger primacy and recency effects than beginners.
B) knowledge in an area of expertise increases a person's digit span.
C) expertise with some material reduces susceptibility to proactive interference with that material.
D) chunking requires knowledge of familiar patterns or concepts.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The finding that chess masters remembered positions better when pieces were arranged in a realistic game-like pattern suggests that they were utilizing chunking, a memory strategy based on grouping information into meaningful units. This requires knowledge of familiar patterns or concepts, which is consistent with choice D. The other choices do not seem to be supported by the information in the passage.

Chase and Simon's Research Compared Memory of Chess Masters and Beginners