Answer to Question 1
The serial-position curve represents the probability of recall of a given word, given its serial position (order of presentation) in a list. The recency effect refers to superior recall of words at and near the end of a list. The primacy effect refers to superior recall of words at and near the beginning of a list. The serial-position curve makes sense in terms of interference theory. Words at the end of the list are subject to proactive but not to retroactive interference. Words at the beginning of the list are subject to retroactive but not to proactive interference. Words in the middle are subject to both types. Thus as long as proactive and retroactive interference both exist and can overlap, they cannot be used to account for a situation in which middle-list recall was the best.
Answer to Question 2
The results of various experiments on retrieval suggest that how items are encoded has a strong effect both on how, and on how well, items are retrieved. This relationship is called encoding specificitywhat is recalled depends on what is encoded.
A flashbulb memory is a memory of an event so powerful that the person remembers the event as vividly as if it were indelibly preserved on film. Some investigators suggest that flashbulb memories may be more vividly recalled because of their emotional intensity. Other investigators, however, suggest that the vividness of recall may be the result of the effects of rehearsal. The idea is that we frequently retell, or at least silently contemplate, our experiences of these momentous events.
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