Sabrina had been studying all night for her Psychology exam. When she finally sat down to take it, her
mind went blank. She was so frustrated! All night she had repeated the definitions of terms over and
over again, using flash cards and her notes to quiz herself on the material. She even memorized an
acronym for one of the concepts, called OCEAN. She remembered how in class her professor had
taught her this little trick using a picture of the word next to a whale in a party hat, and she thought the
picture was adorable. Unfortunately, she was too distracted thinking about all of the errands she had to
run after class and never caught what the first letter of the acronym stood for. She remembered there
were 5 letters: C was for Conscientiousness, E for Extroversion, A for Agreeableness, and N for
Neuroticism. Sabrina looked out her window in frustration, noticing that the store across the street had a
neon OPEN sign. “That’s it!” she thought excitedly,
“O is for Openness!” Sabrina would get this question
right on the test for sure.
Sabrina was experiencing
when she couldn’t remember the first letter of the
acronym, but could remember the others.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
Sabrina was likely experiencing the “tip-of-the-tongue” phenomenon. This is a psychological state where an individual is unable to retrieve a specific piece of information despite having a strong feeling that they know it. In her case, Sabrina could recall the letters C (Conscientiousness), E (Extroversion), A (Agreeableness), and N (Neuroticism) from the acronym OCEAN, but she struggled to remember what the letter O represented.
This phenomenon occurs because retrieval cues trigger the recall of related information without leading to the desired target memory. In Sabrina’s situation, the stress and distractions she faced while preparing for her Psychology exam contributed to her mental block. When a person studies or learns information under pressure, their ability to retrieve specific details can be impaired, resulting in a temporary inability to access that information.
Interestingly, the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon can be frustratingly common, particularly in high-pressure situations like exams. It exemplifies the complexity of memory retrieval, where one can feel simultaneously confident and helpless. The moment Sabrina saw the neon “OPEN” sign, her brain created a connection that helped her retrieve the missing piece of information—connecting the visual cue with her previous learning. This illustrates that sometimes external stimuli can act as effective prompts to aid recall.
Overall, Sabrina’s experience highlights how anxiety, distraction, and retrieval cues can impact memory behavior, showcasing the intricate mechanisms of human cognition, particularly in educational contexts where performance pressure is prevalent.