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Serial-Position Effect
“A list has a middle, but memory seems to favor its edges.”
01 / SUMMARY
In short
Free recall of lists often favors early items and late items. Primacy and recency reflect different processes and conditions, including rehearsal and delay before recall.
03 / SCENE
In the wild
After hearing fifteen words, people commonly retrieve several from the beginning and end, with more gaps in the middle.
04 / LIMIT
The limit
It does not guarantee that first and last are always remembered or apply identically to every complex sequence.
FINAL NOTE
What remains
Do not bury crucial information in the middle of a long list; repeat it meaningfully or give it its own structure.