The key to the partial report method of Sperling's study of sensory memory was to ________.
A) have the participants report the entire matrix of letters they saw as fast as they could
B) have the participants report the entire matrix of letters but mask the letters after the presentation with a very bright light
C) cue the participants, using a tone, as to which line of the matrix they were to report
D) test the use of chunking

Question

The key to the partial report method of Sperling's study of sensory memory was to ________.
A) have the participants report the entire matrix of letters they saw as fast as they could
B) have the participants report the entire matrix of letters but mask the letters after the presentation with a very bright light 
C) cue the participants, using a tone, as to which line of the matrix they were to report 
D) test the use of chunking

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The key to the partial report method was to cue the participants using a tone, indicating which line of the matrix to report. This enabled the researchers to test the capacity of sensory memory and demonstrate that the capacity was much larger than previously believed. Options A and B are not accurate representations of the partial report method, and chunking was not the focus of the study.

The Key to the Partial Report Method of Sperling's Study