What does the recency effect describe in memory recall?

What does the recency effect describe in memory recall?

• A. Words presented at the beginning of a list are remembered best
• B. Words presented in the middle of a list are remembered best
• C. Words presented at the end of a list are remembered best
• D. All words in a list are remembered equally

Answer: (C)

The recency effect refers to the phenomenon in memory recall where individuals tend to remember the most recently presented items better than those presented earlier. This effect is particularly notable when people are asked to remember items immediately after they have been presented. The immediate recall allows the last few items to still be fresh in short-term memory, making them easier to retrieve. In contrast, the other options describe different aspects of memory recall. For instance, the primacy effect is associated with the tendency to remember items at the beginning of a list, while suggesting that words presented in the middle or all words presented equally would not align with established findings in memory studies. Therefore, the selection of the end of the list as having the strongest recall associates directly with the recency effect.

The recency effect refers to the phenomenon in memory recall where individuals tend to remember the most recently presented items better than those presented earlier. This effect is particularly notable when people are asked to remember items immediately after they have been presented. The immediate recall allows the last few items to still be fresh in short-term memory, making them easier to retrieve.

In contrast, the other options describe different aspects of memory recall. For instance, the primacy effect is associated with the tendency to remember items at the beginning of a list, while suggesting that words presented in the middle or all words presented equally would not align with established findings in memory studies. Therefore, the selection of the end of the list as having the strongest recall associates directly with the recency effect.