Dr Ellis Is Contrasting the Depth-Of-Processing and Encoding-Specificity Hypotheses

question 20

Multiple Choice

Dr. Ellis is contrasting the depth-of-processing and encoding-specificity hypotheses. In her experiment, two groups of participants study a word list in a psychology laboratory. Participants in group I determine whether each word is a synonym of a target word; those in group II determine whether each word rhymes with a target word. Some time later, half the participants in each group try to recall the list given sound-focused cues; the other half try to recall the list given meaning-focused cues. Participants given meaning-focused retrieval cues outperform those given sound-focused cues, regardless of the task they performed when they learned the list. What does this result say with respect to the depth-of-processing and encoding-specificity hypotheses?

• A) It supports the encoding-specificity hypothesis.
• B) It supports the depth-of-processing hypothesis.
• C) It contradicts both hypotheses.
• D) It is uninformative with respect to these hypotheses.

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Definitions:

Naturalistic Observation

A research method involving the systematic study of behavior in its natural context, without intervention by the observer.

Objective Data

Information that is measurable, observable, and can be verified by another person, independent of the individual who is observing or measuring it.

Applied Research

Focuses on practical application of scientific knowledge to solve real-world problems.

Social Psychology

The subfield that attempts to explain how the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others influences the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of individuals.