Question

According to the serial position curve, how do items in the middle of a list compare to items at the end of a list?

1) The items in the middle of a list will not be recalled since they will no longer be in short term memory.
2) The items in the middle of a list are more likely to be recalled since they have more time to be rehearsed.
3) The items in the middle of a list will not be recalled since they are not experiencing the primacy or the recency effect.
4) The items in the middle of a list are less likely to be recalled since they are not experiencing the recency effect.

Answer 1

Items in the middle of a list are less likely to be recalled as they don't benefit from the recency effect, unlike the items at the end of the list that are more memorable because they are still in short-term memory.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the serial position effect, the items in the middle of a list are less likely to be recalled since they are not experiencing the recency effect. The serial position curve historically suggests that items at the beginning of the list (primacy effect) and at the end of the list (recency effect) are more likely to be remembered than those in the middle. The items at the end of the list are still in short-term memory, making them more accessible during recall, while those in the middle may have already been forgotten due to memory trace decay and proactive interference. The correct answer to the question, therefore, is 4) The items in the middle of a list are less likely to be recalled since they are not experiencing the recency effect.