Question

(LTM) Laura studied a list of nonsense syllables and once she felt she remembered them tested herself immediately after she got them all right. She wanted to know though how quickly she forgot these syllables after studying them. Which of the following is true regarding how well Laura was able to recall the nonsense syllables?

A. After 20 minutes Laura tested herself and she had already forgotten about half of the syllables. After one day Laura could recall only 30% of the syllables but she found that even after 6 days she could recall almost the same amount as she did in one day after testing.
B. After 20 minutes Laura tested herself and she had already forgotten about half of the syllables. After one day Laura could recall only 30% of the syllables and after 6 days she could barely recall any of them.
C. After 20 minutes Laura tested herself and she had already forgotten about half of the syllables. After one day Laura could recall almost the same amount of the syllables as when she tested herself after 20 minutes and after 6 days she could barely recall any of them.
D. After 20 minutes Laura tested herself and she remembered almost all of the syllables. After one day Laura could recall about half of the syllables and after 6 days she could still remember almost half of them.

Answer 1

The correct answer is Option B: After 20 minutes, Laura had already forgotten about half of the syllables. After one day, she could recall only 30% of the syllables, and after 6 days, she could barely recall any of them.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer is Option B: After 20 minutes, Laura had already forgotten about half of the syllables. After one day, she could recall only 30% of the syllables, and after 6 days, she could barely recall any of them. This is in line with research on memory retention. According to Hermann Ebbinghaus, an average person will lose 50% of the memorized information after 20 minutes and 70% after 24 hours. This phenomenon is known as storage decay, where the memory trace becomes less activated over time, leading to forgetting. Based on the information provided, Laura's ability to recall the nonsense syllables decreased over time, indicating a typical forgetting curve.