The purpose of this experiment was to test different variables that affect memory in regards to recall of concrete nouns. Participants were tested within groups and were presented with an immediate free recall task. There were four lists of words, two of which contained 6-items and two of which contained 12-items. Each list was presented once. Results show performance of recall was dependent upon list length and serial position of the words presented. Results are consistent with the findings of previous studies in that mean proportion recalled was higher on the 6-item list compared to the 12-item list. Primacy effects were present regardless of list length, but a recency effect was observed for the 12-item list but not for the 6-item list Keywords: Recall, Primacy Effect, Recency Effect, Serial Positioning, List length Words The Effect of List Length and Serial Positioning on Recall of Words Memory is an integral element of an individual’s life. Everything …show more content…
Through this primacy and recency effects were seen. The participants were required to perform immediate free recall for two list lengths, 6-item and 12-item lists and there was two of each list tasks performed. The expected results of the experiment were to see whether there was an effect of list length and there would be a serial position effect with interaction between the lists. Based on Greene we can expect higher proportion recall of the shorter lists opposed to the longer lists. There also is expected near perfect recall of the short list, which would be consistent with miller’s magic seven. Consistent with Murdock and Greene there should be both primacy and recency serial position effects. Similarly to Greene, since there are short lists, bigger primacy is expected. Similarly to the long lists of Greene, there should be similarity of both primacy and