Examination for Professional Practice of Psychology (EPPP) Practice Test

The serial position effect refers to the phenomenon where individuals tend to remember the first (primacy effect) and last items (recency effect) in a list better than those in the middle. The multi-store (three box) model of memory effectively explains this concept through its framework of three distinct stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. In this model, information that is presented first is often transferred into long-term memory more effectively, leading to the primacy effect. These items benefit from rehearsal and are encoded into long-term storage. Conversely, the items presented last still reside in short-term memory at the time of recall, contributing to the recency effect. Thus, understanding the serial position effect aligns closely with how the multi-store model outlines the processes of encoding, storage, and retrieval within the memory system. The other models and concepts do not adequately capture the specific mechanisms that account for the serial position effect. For instance, the levels of processing model emphasizes the depth of processing rather than serial order. The distinction between implicit and explicit memory relates to the different types of memory but does not address the serial position phenomenon specifically. Overlearning refers to the practice of continuing to rehearse information beyond the point of initial mastery, which again does