A researcher gives volunteers a list of twelve animal names. Half complete a five-minute arithmetic task before recall, while the other half recall immediat...
Question 1 Report
A researcher gives volunteers a list of twelve animal names. Half complete a five-minute arithmetic task before recall, while the other half recall immediately. The delayed group remembers fewer names.
(a) Name the type of forgetting investigated. [1]
(b) Explain how the arithmetic task could cause this forgetting. [2]
(c) Use one change to the procedure that would test whether the result is caused by decay rather than distraction. [3]
Answer Details
(a) Forgetting from short-term memory / STM forgetting [1] (b) The arithmetic task prevents rehearsal of the animal names [1]. Without rehearsal, the names may decay from STM / be displaced by arithmetic information [1]. (c) Keep the same delay period [1]; replace arithmetic with a quiet, non-verbal task or no additional task [1]; compare recall with the arithmetic condition, where lower recall specifically after distraction would suggest interference rather than decay [1].
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