Beyond Mnemonics:
The Power of the “Primacy-Recency Effect” to Boost Recall
As we demonstrate throughout the website, mnemonics are a great tool to boost recall. But, what other tools are there? One of the most robust and well known is the Primacy-Recency Effect (or the Serial Position Effect).
What is it?
This tool is a nifty, somewhat intuitive, but perhaps esoteric feature of memory. The idea is that, when attempting to hold multiple things in our minds, we tend to remember best things the things we are exposed to first AND those we are exposed to most recently.
Example(s):
Suppose your spouse asks you to pick up five things from the grocery store on your way home from work. You are driving and can’t write them down, so you listen carefully. If the items are milk, eggs, bread, Tabasco sauce, and olives, you will likely remember milk and olives better than you remember the three in the middle.
Why does this occur?
The reasons for this effect—and all memory effects, really—are seldom singular or simple due to the large number of variables involved. That said, primacy is thought to be related to possible extra attention being paid to the first item. Additionally, first items have more time to be rehearsed and thus may enter long-term memory (from whence they can be later retrieved).
Improved memory for the most recent, or last, information may be due to reduced time for the memory to be lost. Further, newly learned information often overrides previously learned information due to a feature of memory known as retroactive interference.
Since a picture truly is worth a thousand words, here’s a diagram that cleanly and succinctly illustrates the power of the Primacy-Recency Effect.
(https://www.plugandplaydesign.co.uk/psychology-marketers-serial-position-effect/)
Real-life application(s):
–A good rule of thumb for school teachers is to start the lesson with the most important concept, then end with a review of the same concept. This gives a double benefit: the same item is attended to first AND last.
–Parents, when giving instructions to kids (e.g., what to grab for the morning at the beach), start and end with the most crucial things. The middle stuff will likely get lost in the confusion.
Better yet, give one instruction at a time.
Best yet, have a beach routine predetermined and posted so the kids won’t even have to come to you at all. That way you aren’t the font of all knowledge. Empower THEM and relieve yourself of potential aggravation. 😊
–Developers of websites might not realize they are utilizing the power of primacy and recency when they strategically place the most important, most accessed features on the first page viewed by users. Similarly, ending with important links or “click ons” takes advantage of the recency idea as people see those just before they leave a given page.
Vocabulary Mnemonics 