Participants in one study were asked to respond with a yes or no to questions on a series of words. When later asked to recall as many of the words as possible, participants recalled words best when they had been asked
A) "Is the word printed in big letters?"
B) "Does it rhyme with another word?"
C) "Does it mean the same as another word?"
D) "Does it describe you?"

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This phenomenon is explained by the levels-of-processing effect, which suggests that deeper levels of analysis, such as how personally relevant a word is (e.g., "Does it describe you?"), lead to more enduring memory. Asking if a word describes you requires self-referential processing, which is a deeper level of processing compared to the physical (size of letters), phonemic (rhyming), or simple semantic (meaning) processing, thereby enhancing recall.

Participants in One Study Were Asked to Respond with a Yes