The general format of a context-dependency study involves two encoding conditions,A and B,and two retrieval conditions,A and B.Which of the following comparison among conditions would be a test of the encoding specificity principle?

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The encoding specificity principle states that memory retrieval is more effective when the retrieval context matches the encoding context. Therefore, comparing the AA group (same encoding and retrieval context) to the AB group (different retrieval context) would test the effect of context dependency on memory retrieval as predicted by the encoding specificity principle. Comparing the BB group to the AB group (different encoding context) would test the effect of encoding specificity on memory recall, but not on the context-dependency effect. Comparing the AA group to the BA group (different encoding context) and comparing the AB group to the BA group (different retrieval context) would test the effect of context-dependent learning, but not specifically the encoding specificity principle.

The General Format of a Context-Dependency Study Involves Two Encoding