In the Macrae et al study, participants given ________when memorizing a list of traits for each person showed __________

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Schema-consistent labels promote organization in memory, so participants who received schema-consistent labels when learning trait lists showed stronger recall of those traits.

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Schemas are organized knowledge structures that help encode and retrieve related information.
- Schema-consistent information fits preexisting categories and can be integrated more easily into associative networks.
- Encoding specificity and cue-dependent retrieval mean that labels act as retrieval cues; consistent labels provide stronger, more diagnostic cues.

2. Step-by-step reasoning
- Step 1: Participants are given a label (e.g., a social category or role) and then a list of traits purportedly describing a person with that label.
- Step 2: When the label is schema-consistent (traits match expectations for the category), the traits are encoded in a coherent, organized way that links them to the schema.
- Step 3: This organized encoding increases associative connections among traits and between traits and the label, strengthening memory traces.
- Step 4: At test, the label functions as an effective cue, enabling easier retrieval of the grouped traits.
- Step 5: Therefore, recall performance is enhanced for lists learned under schema-consistent labels.

3. Intermediate steps / calculations
- No numeric calculations are required. The intermediate cognitive steps are: label activated → schema-consistent traits integrated → stronger associative links → better cueing at retrieval → higher recall.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- Macrae et al’s findings align with schema theory: consistent labels facilitate encoding and retrieval, producing stronger recall for traits associated with the labeled person. The label serves both to organize information and to cue it at recall.

5. Why other options are incorrect
- “Schema-inconsistent labels; stronger recall” would predict a benefit from inconsistency; while distinctiveness can sometimes aid memory, Macrae et al found the opposite pattern in this paradigm.
- “Schema-consistent labels; weaker recall” contradicts the organizational and cueing advantages of schema-consistency.
- “Schema-inconsistent labels; weaker recall” is not the specific effect reported; the key finding was that consistency led to stronger recall.

6. Conclusion
This explanation confirms the correct answer: schema-consistent labels; stronger recall of traits.

In the Macrae et al study, participants given when memorizing a list of traits for each person showed __Single choice

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In the Macrae et al study, participants given ________when memorizing a list of traits for each person showed __________Single choice