In a memory span task, participants are given two lists of items to recall. Items on List A are three-letter acronyms, such as USA and ABC, and items on List B are three unrelated letters, such as BQD and YHP. It is likely that participants will recall more letters from _____, which can be BEST explained by the use of _____.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The participants are likely to recall more letters from List A because they can use chunking, or grouping of the three-letter acronyms into meaningful units, to aid in memory retrieval. Priming is not a likely explanation for the difference in recall between the two lists.

In a Memory Span Task, Participants Are Given Two Lists