Question

Describe the serial position curve. Draw a graph (labeling each axis) to illustrate the curve, making sure you explain each "section" of the curve. Explain the structural features of memory responsible for the shape of the curve.

Answer 1

Serial position curve is a “U”-shaped learning curve that is normally obtained while recalling a list of words due to the greater accuracy of recall of words from the beginning and end of the list than words from the middle of the list.

the serial position curve can be defined as a “U-shaped relationship between a word’s position in a list and its probability of recall.

The serial position effect consists of two phenomena viz. primacy effect and recency effect.

Primacy effect refers to the better recall of items from the beginning of list (first three or four items),

recency effect refers to the better recall of items from the end of the list (last three or four items) than middle items of the list.