Final answer:
Hermann Ebbinghaus was the early psychologist most likely to conduct research on people's memory for a longer story due to his extensive work on memory and the forgetting curve. The correct option is b) B.F. Skinner
Step-by-step explanation:
Hermann Ebbinghaus would have been the early psychologist most likely to conduct research on people's memory for a story that was several pages in length.
Ebbinghaus is a seminal figure in the study of memory, and his methodical approach to understanding how memory functions is well documented. His famous forgetting curve highlights the decline of memory retention over time and would be relevant in a study involving the memory of longer narratives.
Sigmund Freud, although an influential psychologist, focused on psychoanalysis and in-depth case studies, which differ greatly from experimental psychology and memory research. B.F. Skinner was a behaviorist primarily interested in observable behaviors and their relationship to environmental stimuli rather than internal cognitive processes like memory.
William James, another significant figure in early psychology, made many contributions to various areas of psychology, but he was not specifically known for experimental research on memory retention like Ebbinghaus.
Therefore, based on Ebbinghaus's extensive research on memory and learning, he would be the most probable candidate who would study memory retention of a long story. The correct option is b) B.F. Skinner