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Information and IdeasMediumSelecting supporting evidence

Information and Ideas practice question

A cognitive scientist claims that people remember information better when they expect to have to teach it to someone else than when they expect only to be tested on it.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the scientist's claim?

  1. A. Participants told they would later teach the material to another person scored higher on a surprise recall test than participants told they would sit an exam on it.Correct
  2. B. Participants who actually taught the material reported enjoying the session more than those who took a test.
  3. C. Experienced teachers remember their subjects better than the general public does.
  4. D. Participants expecting an exam spent more minutes studying than those expecting to teach.

Answer: A. Participants told they would later teach the material to another person scored higher on a surprise recall test than participants told they would sit an exam on it.

The claim compares two expectations — teaching versus being tested — and their effect on memory. Choice A tests exactly that: same material, different expectation, and the 'expect to teach' group remembered more.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. Participants who actually taught the material reported enjoying the session more than those who took a test.
Enjoyment isn't memory. The claim is about how much people remember, not how they feel.
C. Experienced teachers remember their subjects better than the general public does.
Experienced teachers differ from the public in many ways; this doesn't isolate the effect of EXPECTING to teach.
D. Participants expecting an exam spent more minutes studying than those expecting to teach.
Study time isn't recall, and if anything this would seem to favour the exam group — it doesn't support the claim.

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