"The term was coined by Hermann Ebbinghaus through studies he performed on himself and refers to the finding that recall accuracy varies as a function of an item's position within a study list."
The phenomenon where the position of an item in a list affects how well it is remembered.
Short-term memory: This refers to the aspect of memory that involves the temporary storage of information in the brain for a brief period, which is relevant to the serial position effect as this effect is only observed in short-term memory.
Long-term memory: This refers to the aspect of memory that involves the storage and retrieval of information over a longer period, which the serial position effect may influence as the position of an item in the sequence could affect its ability to be stored in long-term memory.
Memory consolidation: This is the process through which memories are transformed into a more permanent and stable form via synaptic changes in the brain, which is relevant to the serial position effect as it could affect how certain items are encoded in memory.
Primacy effect: Refers to the tendency for people to remember the first items in a sequence better than the middle ones.
Recency effect: Refers to the tendency for people to remember the last items in a sequence better than the middle ones.
Von Restorff effect: This effect describes how an item that stands out from the rest of the items in a sequence is more likely to be remembered.
Positional encoding: Refers to how the position of an item in a sequence affects how it is processed and encoded in memory.
Memory retrieval: Refers to the process through which memories are accessed and retrieved from storage, which may be influenced by the serial position effect as items in certain positions may be easier or harder to retrieve.
Chunking: This is a strategy used to improve memory by grouping smaller items into larger units. This technique may be relevant to the serial position effect as it may affect how items in a sequence are grouped and encoded.
Attention: The ability to focus on specific information or stimuli, which will impact memory storage and retrieval, and may play a role in the serial position effect.
Primacy Effect: This occurs when participants recall items that appear at the beginning of the list better than they do items in the middle of the list.
Recency Effect: This effect occurs when participants recall items at the end of the list better than they do items in the middle.
Serial Anticipation Effect: This occurs when participants recall the items forward or backward.
Murdock's Free Recall Experiment: This experiment observed a relationship between the number of items in a list and the probability of recalling any given item.
Semantic Context Effects: This occurs when the recall of an item in the list is affected by the previous context.
"People tend to recall the first and last items in a series best and the middle items worst."
"The term was coined by Hermann Ebbinghaus."
"When asked to recall a list of items in any order (free recall), people tend to begin recall with the end of the list, recalling those items best (the recency effect). Among earlier list items, the first few items are recalled more frequently than the middle items (the primacy effect)."
"One suggested reason for the primacy effect is that the initial items presented are most effectively stored in long-term memory because of the greater amount of processing devoted to them."
"The primacy effect is reduced when items are presented quickly and is enhanced when presented slowly."
"Longer presentation lists have been found to reduce the primacy effect."
"One theorized reason for the recency effect is that these items are still present in working memory when recall is solicited."
"An additional explanation for the recency effect is related to temporal context: if tested immediately after rehearsal, the current temporal context can serve as a retrieval cue."
"The recency effect is reduced when an interfering task is given. Intervening tasks involve working memory."
"If exceeding 15 to 30 seconds in duration, the distractor activity can cancel out the recency effect."
"If recall comes immediately after the test, the recency effect is consistent regardless of the length of the studied list or presentation rate."
"Amnesiacs with poor ability to form permanent long-term memories do not show a primacy effect."
"Amnesiacs [...] do show a recency effect if recall comes immediately after study."
"People with Alzheimer's disease exhibit a reduced primacy effect."
"People with Alzheimer's disease [...] do not produce a recency effect in recall."
"People tend to begin recall with the end of the list, recalling those items best (the recency effect)."
"The initial items presented are most effectively stored in long-term memory because of the greater amount of processing devoted to them."
"The primacy effect is reduced when items are presented quickly and is enhanced when presented slowly."
"Longer presentation lists have been found to reduce the primacy effect."