Effect of List Position on Free Recall Essay - 792 Words

In our daily lives, we constantly try to store and retrieve information from our memory. Sometimes the retrieval process is quite simple, while other times it seems to be almost impossible. An experiment was done to investigate the effect of list position on free recall. The serial position effect refers to the U-shaped pattern presentation on a free recall task. The accuracy of item recall depends on the order that the stimulus is presented. The serial position curve is an example of how the recency and primacy effect appears to have influence on recall. Primacy effect results from initial observations and it is believed that the first few items of the list is remembered the second best. The recency effect results from the final†¦show more content†¦The participant is permitted to use any form of memory strategies available. The independent variables are the letters being presented and its serial positioning. The dependent variable is the proportion of times each letter is recalled. Results The graph below shows the U-shaped pattern presentation, which shows the serial position effect. As presented in the graph, the position of the item effects the ability of recall. Primacy effect can be seen in the beginning of the graph, and the receneny effect can be seen at the end of the graph. The results indicate that as serial positioning of the item increased the accuracy percentage decreased. Provided below is the graph of the average experiment results of PSY270 winter Class. Discussion It was hypothesized that participants will recall the last items most accurately, first items fairly accurate and middle items the least accurate. However, the results of the curve could vary depending on the memory strategies used and the order that the participant recalls the items. Most often participants will recall the last few items presented first which would cause the latter end of the U-shaped curve to be higher. The result of the experiment was consistent with the hypothesis to an extent. The results of the experiment demonstrate that the primacy effect is larger than that of the recency effect. It is quite puzzling that most of the participants wereShow MoreRelatedThe Effect of Recall on Non-Meaningful Words1454 Words   |  6 PagesPSYC 319: PRACTICALS IN LEARNING (2011/ 2012) TOPIC: The Effect of Word Position on Recall of Non-meaningful Words. ID NUMBER: 10306280 ABSTRACT: 60 participants were selected randomly from University of Ghana, Accra City Campus and the main campus. They were assigned to 2 groups, experimental and control group. The experimental group was made to immediately recall in serial order, a list of 16 3-letter nonsense syllables within a period of 30 seconds, after the words were presentedRead MoreEssay on Free Recall and Memory773 Words   |  4 Pagestime. When we go to buy things, we would remember the list of items what we are going to buy. 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