Education Atlas

How Knowledge Is Built
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Learning Theory and Concepts

Serial-Position Effect

Memory, Retention and Retrieval Strategies

The serial-position effect is the tendency of a person to recall the first and last items in a series best, and the items in the middle worst. It combines two component effects: the primacy effect, the tendency to better remember items near the start of a list, and the recency effect, the tendency to better remember items near the end.

Facts
Core Claim
The tendency to recall the first and last items in a series best and the middle items worst, produced by the combined primacy and recency effects. 1
Connections

Developed By

Source Wikipedia: Hermann Ebbinghaus
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Serial-position effect
Wikimedia Foundation
  • lead paragraph
    Serial-position effect is the tendency of a person to recall the first and last items in a series best, and the middle items worst.
  • In Group: Memory Models and Memory Effects, Lead
    Serial-position effect is the tendency of a person to recall the first and last items in a series best, and the middle items worst.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Hermann Ebbinghaus
Wikimedia FoundationDeveloped By: Hermann Ebbinghaus, Body
Quote, Developed By: Hermann Ebbinghaus, Body
Ebbinghaus had also documented the serial position effect, which describes how the position of an item affects recall.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.