Researchers William Marmie and Alice Healy (2004) asked participants to study an unfamiliar coin for short periods of time, ranging from 15 seconds to 60 seconds. The results showed that participants were better able to remember details of the unfamiliar coin than the familiar U.S. penny. This finding confirmed that one of the most common reasons for forgetting is:
A)retrieval failure.
B)retroactive interference.
C)encoding failure.
D)proactive interference.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The study's results suggest that encoding failure could be one of the most common reasons for forgetting, as the participants were able to better remember details of the unfamiliar coin than the familiar U.S. penny. Encoding failure refers to a failure to process information into memory, making it difficult to retrieve that information later on.

Researchers William Marmie and Alice Healy (2004) Asked Participants to Study