Why does Alex know the names of the officers who rescued him and Zoe from the water?

• A. His mother made him send the officers thank you notes
• B. The officers told him their names directly
• C. He wrote the names down during the rescue
• D. Zoe whispered the names to him

Answer: (A)

The situation shows that Alex’s knowledge of the rescuers’ names comes from a social cue tied to him writing thank-you notes. His mother, wanting him to acknowledge the help he received, makes him send notes to the people who rescued him and Zoe. In doing those notes, he would naturally learn and remember the officers’ names because he’s completing the act of thanking them, and the notes themselves carry that information. It isn’t because the officers spoke his name at the moment, nor because Zoe whispered it, nor because he wrote the names down during the rescue. The parental instruction to express thanks provides the mechanism through which the names became known to him.