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Psycho Serial Positioning

1. The document discusses the serial positioning effect, which refers to better recall of items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list. 2. It provides an overview of memory, including the three stages of encoding, storage, and retrieval, as well as Atkinson and Shiffrin's three-stage model of sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. 3. Baddeley and Hitch's model of working memory is described, which includes the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, central executive, and episodic buffer.

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Spriha Ray
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
144 views15 pages

Psycho Serial Positioning

1. The document discusses the serial positioning effect, which refers to better recall of items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list. 2. It provides an overview of memory, including the three stages of encoding, storage, and retrieval, as well as Atkinson and Shiffrin's three-stage model of sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. 3. Baddeley and Hitch's model of working memory is described, which includes the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, central executive, and episodic buffer.

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Spriha Ray
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SERIAL- POSITIONING EFFECT

By
Spriha Ray
Aryabhatta College, University of Delhi
Prof. – Dr. Ravi Bhushan Prasad
Due date – February 15, 2021
Aim – to study the speed of retention and recall and primacy and recency effect in learning of
meaningful and non- meaningful syllables.

Basic concepts:

1. Memory - Memory refers to retaining and recalling information over period of time,
depending upon the nature of cognitive task you are required to perform. It refers to the
processes that are used to acquire, store, retain, and later retrieve information. Memory is
conceptualized as a process of three independent, though interrelate stages: encoding,
storage and retrieval.
Encoding – It is the first stage in which the information received is recorded and
registered in our memory for later use. The information from the outside world is
perceived by our senses in different forms of stimuli and then represented in ways so that
it can be retained in our memory. It is a process of receiving, processing and combining
the information. Therefore, it allows information from the outside world to reach our
senses in the form of chemical or physical stimuli. Those who encode the data in
tremendous manner re better able to store and later retrieve it.
Storage – Storage is the second stage of memory. The information encoded should also
be stored so that it can be used for later times whenever required. Proper storage of
encoded data ensures better recall. When information is stored in supreme manner, we
are able to retain information for a prolonged period of time and also better recall it.
Retrieval – It is the third stage of memory. Information can be used only when one is
able to recover it from his/her memory. Retrieval refers to bringing the stored information
to his/her awareness so that it can be used for performing various cognitive tasks such as
problem-solving or decision making. Human beings register information, store and
manipulate he stored information depending on what task they need to perform.
2. The memory is stored in three stages, as theorized by Atkinson and Shiffrin’s ‘Three-
Stage’ memory model. The three-stage model suggests that we have three types of
memory:
 Sensory memory – the incoming information first enters the sensory memory. Although
sensory memory has a very large capacity, it holds onto the incoming information for a
very brief period of time i.e., for less than a second. The sensory memory registers data
from each of the senses very accurately. It has different subsets pertaining to the various
types of senses. They can be divided in three sub-types:
i) Iconic memory – Sensory input to the visual system goes into iconic memory. It is so
named because the mental representations in sensory memory are referred to as icons.
Iconic memory has a very rapid decay rate. Iconic memory can be noticeable when
bright lights move rapidly at night and we only perceive them as forming a trail rather
than the source; this image is represented in the iconic memory store.
ii) Echoic Memory – echoic memory is the branch of sensory memory that is used by the
auditory system. Echoic memory is capable of holding a large amount of auditory
information, but only for 3-4 seconds. This echoic sound is replayed in the mind for a
brief amount of time immediately after presentation of the auditory stimulus.
iii) Haptic Memory – haptic memory is the branch of sensory memory that uses the sense
of touch. Sensory receptors all over the body detect sensations like pressure, itching
and pain, which are briefly held in haptic memory, before vanishing or being
transported to short-term memory. Haptic memory also has a very rapid rate oof
decay. This type of memory is used when assessing the necessary forces for gripping
and interacting with familiar objects. Also, not much is known about haptic memory
unlike the other two compared to the other two as it has only been recently identified.
 Short-term memory – the information that is attended to enter the short- term memory
next. It holds only a few items (7 +/- 2 items) and only lasts for about 20 secs. Items can
be moved from short term memory to long term memory via processes like elaborative
rehearsals. Short-term memory can also hold ono the incoming information using
chunking and maintenance rehearsals.
 Baddeley (1986) suggested that the short-term memory has a working bench that holds a
wide variety of memory materials that are constantly handled, manipulated and
transformed as we perform various cognitive tasks. He called this work bench as working
memory. Though the term working memory is often used synonymously with short-term
memory, working memory is related to but actually distinct from short-term memory.
Baddeley and Hitch’s working memory model is the most accepted model for it today.
The working memory can further be divided into four categories:
i) Phonological loop – it is responsible for dealing with auditory and verbal information,
such as phone numbers, names or general understanding of what people are talking
about. It consists of two parts: phonological store which stores the sound, and
articulatory loop which replays the sound.
ii) Visuospatial Sketchpad – it handles the visual and spatial information, i.e., the
information bout position and properties of objects are stored here
iii) Central Executive – the central executive is like the ceo all the subtypes of sensory
memory. It connects the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad and
coordinates their activities. It also links the working memory to the long-term
memory, controls the storage of long-term memory, and manages memory retrieval
from the storage
iv) Episodic Buffer – it is assumed to be controlled by the central executive and can also
integrate information from a variety of sources. It can retrieve information from store
in the form of conscious awareness, of reflecting on visuospatial information and,
where necessary, manipulating and modifying it. The episodic buffer is a temporary
store that combines information from the phonological loop and subsystems of
working memory with information about time and order to form and maintain an
integrated, detailed representation of a given stimulus or event that can then be
deposited into long-term memory as necessary. It is “episodic” in the sense that it
holds integrated episodes or scenes and a “buffer” in the sense of providing a limited
capacity interface between systems using different representational codes. The
episodic buffer provides a means to allow multiple sources of information to be
considered simultaneously, thus creating a model of the environment that may be
manipulated to solve problems and plan future behavior.
 Long-term memory – Memories that survive the capacity and duration limitations of the
STM finally enter the Long-term memory. Long term memories are all the memories we
hold for periods of time longer than a few seconds; long- term memory encompasses
everything from what we learn in first grade to our old addresses to what we wore to
work yesterday. Long-term memory has an incredibly vast storage capacity, and some
memories can last from the time they are created until we die. Once any information
enters the LTM, it is never forgotten because its encoded semantically i.e., in terms of the
meaning that any information carries.
The long-term memory can be further subdivided into:
i) Explicit memory – it I also known as declarative or conscious memory. It involves
memory of facts, concepts and event that require conscious recall of information. This
information is stored explicitly and retrieved. It can be further bifurcated into
semantic and episodic memory. Semantic memory is the memory of general
awareness and knowledge. All concepts, ideas and rules of logic are stored in
semantic memory. Since the contents of semantic memory relate to facts and ideas of
general awareness and knowledge, it is affect-neutral and not susceptible of
forgetting. Episodic memory, on the other hand, contains biographical details of our
lives. Memories relating to our personal life experiences constitute the episodic
memory and it is for this reason that its content are generally emotional in nature.
ii) implicit memory – in contrast to explicit memory, implicit memory is also known
unconscious or procedural memory. It involves procedures for completing actions.
This type of memory does not require conscious recall and naturally flow through are
actions, hence, they are difficult to explain verbally. This type of memory involves
movement and motor coordination.

Serial Positioning Effect - The serial positioning effect has two main components:

1. Primacy effect – It is the superior recall of the earliest items in a series. It occurs because
the initial items in a list are stored in long term memory more efficiently that appear later
in the list.
2. Recency effect – it the greater recall of the most recent item of the most recent items in
the series, it happens because we tend to remember the last few items of the list more
than the ones appearing in the beginning.
3. Types of recall: Recall of memory refers to the subsequent re-accessing of events or
information from the past, which has been previously encoded and stored in our brain.
There are typically two types recall:
i) Serial recall – it is the ability to recall the information /items in the exact order in
which they occurred.
ii) Free recall – In this type of recall, the subjects of the experiment are asked to recall
the information/items in the list presented to them in any order they want.

Review of Literature:

1) Murdock Jr., Bennet B. (1962). The serial position effect of free recall: Murdock asked
participants to learn a list of words that varied in length from 10 to 40 words and free recall
them. Each word was presented for one to two seconds. He found that the probability of
recalling any word depended on its position in the list (its serial position). Words presented
either early in the list or at the end were more often recalled, but the ones in the middle were
more often forgotten. This is known as serial position effect. The improved recall of words at
the beginning of the list is called the primacy effect; that at the end of the list, the recency
effect. This recency effect exists even when the list is lengthened to 40 words. Murdock
suggested that words early in the list were put into long-term memory (primacy effect)
because the person has time to rehearse each word acoustically. Words from the end of the
list went into short-term memory (recency effect) which can typically hold about 7 items.
Words in the middle of the list had been there too long to be held in short term memory
(STM) (due to displacement) and not long enough to be put into long term memory (LTM).
In a nutshell, when participants remember primary and recent information, it is thought that
they are recalling information from two separate stores (STM and LTM).

2) Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) - Glanzer and Cunitz presented two groups of participants with
the same list of words. One group recalled the words immediately after presentation, while
the other group recalled the words after waiting 30 seconds. These participants had to count
backwards in threes which prevented rehearsal and caused the recency effect to disappear.
Both groups could free recall the words in any order. The words at the end of the list are only
remembered if recalled first and tested immediately. Delaying recall by 30 seconds prevented
the recency effect.

3) Serial Position effect on the recall of Television Commercial (W. Scott Terry) - The
findings of naturalistic studies can be affected by uncontrolled presentation, viewing, and
retention variables. In the present article, college students viewed lists of 15 commercials in a
laboratory simulation and recalled the product brand names. In an immediate test, the first
commercials in a list were well recalled (a primacy effect), as were the last items (a recency
effect), in comparison with the recall of middle items. In an end-of-session test, the primacy
effect persisted, but the recency effect disappeared. Embedding lists within a television
program again produced better recall of the first items during end-of-session tests of recall
and recognition. These results offered convergent validity for the naturalistic studies of
commercial memory, and they supported the usefulness of combining laboratory and field
methods to answer questions about everyday memory.

Hypothesis:

1. Primacy and recency effect exists irrespective of the type of material learnt.
2. Speed of learning and recall varies with meaningful and non- meaningful words.

Variables:

1. Independent Variables
a. List A (meaningful syllables)
b. List B (non-meaningful syllables)
2. Dependent Variables
a. Percentage Recall
b. Average time taken in recall
c. Number of trials in free recall
3. Controlled Variables
a. The time duration (1 second) will remain constant for which the word is shown to the
subject.
b. Time gap between to lists (10 minutes gap between 2 lists)
c. Number of syllables in each letter
d. Environmental variables such as sunlight, noise, temperature of room etc.

Precautions:

1. Number of words in both the lists were kept same over the trials.
2. For each trial, the lists were presented in the same serial order.
3. The seating arrangement for the subject was made in a such a manner that the subject was
not getting disturbed by the presence and activity.
4. The stopwatch or the notes taken by the experimenter should not be visible to the subject.

Materials required:

1. Pen
2. Paper
3. List A (list of meaningful words)
4. List B (list of non- meaningful syllables)
5. Stopwatch
6. Graph Paper
Preliminaries:

 Name of Subject – ABC


 Age – 44
 Gender – female
 Educational Qualifications – B.Ed.
 Occupation – School Teacher

Rapport formation – It is the fundamental aspect of human communications. Hence, rapport


formation is formed to build trust. This will ensure honesty, fairness in answering the questions.
It is also done to understand the subject as well as showing respect to him/her by polite and
expressing gratitude. Prior to administrating the test, a comfortable setting should be ensured,
providing a security and privacy is also essential for rapport formation. Ensuring that noise does
not affect communication, light, decorum and amenities also hold the basis for successful
administration.

It is essential requirement to motivate subject to cooperate during test. similarly, the rapport was
created with the subject and also, the subject was well informed about the details of the test. She
was made comfortable and was well aware of the test.

Instructions: This is a simple experiment on memory. The subject’s task is to learn the list of 10
syllables. Each noun will be displayed on the monitor (experimenter demonstrates). For a brief
period of time. The subject will pronounce each syllable loudly as it appears on the monitor.

After the subject reads aloud the entire list of 10 syllables, the experimenter will give him a plain
sheet of paper to recall the words in any order. The subject is requested to not spend too much
time in recalling the word, the list will be shown to him again and again. This process of showing
the list continues until he recalls the entire 10 syllables of the list without any error in any order.

The list will begin with this symbol, a star, (experimenter demonstrates). Before the
experimenter begins the list, this will appear and then the syllables will follow. Before each trial,
the experimenter will say ‘READY’ and they you start.

After every trial, the subject will say ‘FINISHED’ when he has recalled as many words off the
list as he can, in any order.’ (The same set of instructions applies to both the lists.)
“Is everything clear? Can we begin?”

“Ready?”

Procedure:

1. First of all, the conditions in which the test was taken were checked e.g., light,
ventilation, environment, noise, etc.
2. Then, the subject of the test was made comfortable.
3. The materials for the test were arranged.
4. Then the test was explained to the Subject.
5. The rapport was framed to build the trust with the subject. He was also told about the
confidentiality of the scores.
6. Then the related instructions were given to the subject. He was told about the list of
items and then producing the items of the list verbally.
7. The doubts of the subject were cleared in case there were any.
8. A screen was placed between the experimenter and the participant.
9. The first list, i.e., List A of meaningful syllables was shown to the participant using the
laptop. Each word was shown for 1 second.
10. After showing all the words, the participant was asked to recall all the words they
remembered verbally till he remembered the maximum he could. The process of
showing the screen and subsequent recall continued until the participant was able to
recall all the syllables present in the list.
11. The number of trials and time taken for each trial was recorded by the researcher.
12. The same procedure was followed for the recall of syllables in List B and the number of
trials and time taken for each trial was also recorded for this list.
13. The scoring and interpretation of the test were done after the test was completed.
14. At the end of the experiment, the subject was asked to write down his/her experience
during the experiment.

Introspective Report: “I was very nervous at the beginning of the experiment and worried about
expectations attached to my performance. But Spriha made me at ease mentally in every way
possible about the experiment. The experiment sounded fun one and was pumped up to do my
best. The first list of words was familiar and easy to recall as compared to the second list. The
non- meaningful words were challenging to remember and required extra effort for recall.

Nevertheless, it was a good experience participating in the experiment and it also helped me
recognize my strong points in recalling information.”

Behavioral report: My participant was very nervous about her performance on the given
experiment. But she was able to calm down after rapport formation took place. She was able to
catch on the given instructions quickly. She recalled the list of meaningful words more easily as
compared to the list of non-meaningful list of words.

Result tables:

List A

List A Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Total Recall % Recall


HAS P P P 3 100%
RUT P P P 3 100%
KID P P 2 66.6%
BOX P P P 3 100%
JAR P P 2 66.6%
FUN P P P 3 100%
DG P P P 3 100%
COW P P P 3 100%
NAP P 1 33.3%
TUB P P 2 66.6%
Time Taken 10 secs 11 secs 10 secs

Average time = total time taken/ number of trials = 10.33 secs

List B

List B Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Total % Recall


Recall
RIX P P P P P 5 100%
HIQ P P P 3 60%
SEB P P P P 4 80%
TEW P P P P P 5 100%
TUV P P P 3 60%
VEJ P P P P P 5 100%
VEQ P P P P 4 80%
VIB P P P 3 60%
VOH P P 2 40%
WUG P P 2 40%
Time 10 secs 12 secs 13 secs 15 secs 14 secs
Taken
Average time taken = total time taken/ number of trials = 12.8 secs

Graph:

LIST A
120
110
100
90
% RECALL OF WORDS

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
List B RIX HIQ SEV TEW TUV VEJ VEQ VIB VOH WUG
WORD LISTS
LIST B
120
110
100
90
% RECALL OF WORDS

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
List B RIX HIQ SEV TEW TUV VEJ VEQ VIB VOH WUG
WORD LISTS

Average Time Taken


14
Average time taken (in secs)

12

10

0
List A List B

Lists to be Recalled

Interpretation:

The aim of the present experiment was to study the speed of learning and recall and primacy and
recency effect.

In the present experiment, the subject took total 3 trials to recall all the words correctly List A
and 5 trials to recall all the syllables correct for List B.
For list A, that is the list of meaningful syllables, subject took three trials, where in first trial the
subject recalled 3 words incorrect and 7 words correct out of the 10 words. In 2nd trial. The
subject recalled 8 correct and 2 incorrect. In the third trial, which was the final trial, the subject
recalled all the words correctly.

In List A, the subject took 3 trials and took 10 seconds for trial 1, 11 seconds for trial 2 and 10
seconds for trial 3. Collectively his average time was 10.33 seconds.

It is visible from the result table and graph in List A, the recall percentage for first few words
were 100%, 100% and 66.6% respectively and for last few words the recall percentage were
100%, 33.3% and 66.6% respectively.

For List B, that is the list of non-meaningful syllables, the subject took a total of 5 trials, where
in the first trial the subject recalled 5 words correct and 5 words incorrect. in the 2nd trial the
subject recalled words correctly and 4 words incorrectly. In the 3rd trial, the subject recalled 7
words correct and 3 words incorrect. in the 4th trial, the subject recalled 8 words correct and 2
words incorrect. in the 5th trial, which was also the last trial, the subject recalled all the words
correctly.

It is visible from the result table and the graph of List B, the recall percentage for first few words
were 100%, 60% and 80% respectively and for the last few words the recall percentage were
60%, 40% and 40% respectively.

Discussion – In the year 1962, the experiment done by Murdock and Bennet had shown result of
superior recall using primacy and recency effect. They concluded in their experiment that the
probability of recalling any words on the list depends on the position of the word on the list.
They replaced the meaningful and non-meaningful lists with varying the number of words in the
list presented to the participant. They were successfully able to highlight the effects of primacy
and recency.

Studies conducted by Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) and by W. Scott Terry had also shown similar
results, although they varied their variables in the experiment.

In another similar study conducted by Spriha, she was able to establish whether the primacy and
recency effects exist by using two lists of meaningful and non-meaningful words respectively.
Conclusion: With the above interpretation and discussion, it can be concluded that primacy and
recency effect exist irrespective of learning of meaningful and non-meaningful syllables; and
also, that, the subject takes more trials and time in recall of the non-meaningful syllables than for
meaningful syllables.

References

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Serial Position Effect: How to Create Better User Interfaces. (2020, August 18). The Interaction
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effect-how-to-create-better-user-interfaces

Serial Position Effects in Recall of Television Commercials. (n.d.). Taylor & Francis.
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Terry, W. (2005). Serial Position Effects in Recall of Television Commercials | Semantic


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What is Serial Position Effect? (n.d.). The Interaction Design Foundation.


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