In his eighth-grade history class, Michael had to recite Lincoln's Gettysburg Address from memory. Michael did well at the beginning and end of the Address, but forgot some sentences in the middle. This example illustrates the serial position effect.

Question

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The serial position effect refers to the tendency for people to better recall items that are presented at the beginning or end of a list, rather than items from the middle. In this example, Michael had better recall for the beginning and end of the Gettysburg Address, but struggled to remember sentences in the middle, which is consistent with the serial position effect.

In His Eighth-Grade History Class, Michael Had to Recite Lincoln's