Question

A full week after Usha heard her mother read her a list of 12 different farm animals, Usha is most likely to remember the animals ________ of the list.

A) at the beginning and end
B) at the end
C) at the beginning
D) in the middle

Answer 1

Usha is most likely to remember the animals at the beginning and end of the list because of the serial position effect, which comprises the primacy and recency effects.

Step-by-step explanation:

The phenomenon being described in the question is known as the serial position effect, which is a term used in psychology to describe a person's tendency to remember the first and last items in a series best. Usha is most likely to remember the animals that were at the beginning and end of the list.

This effect occurs because of two cognitive biases: the primacy effect, where items at the beginning of a list are remembered better due to being rehearsed more, and the recency effect, where items at the end of a list are remembered because they are the most recent and thus still active in short-term memory. Items in the middle of the list are less likely to be recalled because they are neither rehearsed enough to enter long-term memory (like the first items) nor are they recent enough to stay in short-term memory (like the last items).