Question

Which of the following is correct regarding the serial position curve?

a) the recency effect is diminished by decreasing the presentation time for each item during encoding.
b) the primacy effect is diminished by increasing the presentation time for each item during encoding.
c) the primacy effect is diminished by decreasing the presentation time for each item during encoding.
d) the recency effect is diminished by increasing the presentation time for each item during encoding.

Answer 1

The recency effect is diminished by increasing the presentation time for each item during encoding.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct option regarding the serial position curve is d) the recency effect is diminished by increasing the presentation time for each item during encoding.

The serial position curve refers to the tendency for participants to remember and recall items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list better than items in the middle. The primacy effect is related to long-term memory while the recency effect is related to short-term memory.

Increasing the presentation time for each item during encoding allows participants to rehearse and transfer the items from short-term memory to long-term memory, which reduces the recency effect because by the end of the list, the items in the middle have been remembered as well.