Angie is a participant in an experiment on the serial position curve.One of the words on the list she hears is "lemon." Later, when asked to recall the list, she erroneously reports "lime." The word "lemon" was most likely:
A)the very last word on the list.
B)written in bold letters, causing her to experience a Von Restorff effect.
C)one of the first three items of the list.
D)the only word from the category "fruit" on the list.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The serial position curve suggests that participants are more likely to remember the first few items on a list (primacy effect) and the last few items on a list (recency effect). Since Angie erroneously reported "lime" instead of "lemon," it is possible that "lemon" was one of the first three items on the list that she heard, and the primacy effect caused her to remember "lime," which sounds similar to "lemon." It is unlikely that "lemon" was the last word on the list (option A), as the recency effect would have made it more likely for her to remember it correctly. Option B is also unlikely, as there is no information about the word "lemon" being presented differently from the other words on the list. Option D is not relevant to the question and is therefore an incorrect choice.

Angie Is a Participant in an Experiment on the Serial