Analysis of the Serial Position
Effect
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1. Introduction
The serial position effect is a psychological phenomenon discovered by Hermann Ebbinghaus
in 1885. He utilized the well-known prompting or anticipation approach, in which the
memorized list's contents must be recalled in the sequence they were memorized (Glanzer &
Cunitz, 1996). The results of his research illustrate how the order of information in a series
affects human memory. It implies that items appearing very early or very late in a series, will
be remembered the best, whereas the middle ones are difficult to recall (Robinson & Brown,
1926; Deese & Kaufman, 1957). The probability of recall as a function of the word's position
in a graph is generally U-shaped, with the initial peak being less than the end peak (Feigenbaum
& Simon, 1962; Murdock; 1962; Glanzer & Cunitz, 1996 Tan & Ward, 2000) (see figure 1).
The U-shaped serial position curve, according to this concept, is made up of two curves, each
indicating output from a different storage system. The first is a long-term storage system, and
the second is a short-term storage system (Glanzer, 1969; Glanzer & Cunitz, 1996). The
assumption of a long-term and short-term storage mechanism implies that material recalled at
the start of the list should be mostly output from long-term storage, and material recalled at the
conclusion of the list should be primarily output from short-term storage (Glenberg et al., 1980).
The first peak is also known as the primacy effect, whereas the second peak is known as the
recency effect.
This paper examines the serial position effect in terms of primacy and recency, as well as the
economic consequences of both.
Figure 1. Idealized serial position curve for 24-word list.
Note: adapted from Murdock Jr, B. B. (1962). The serial position effect of free recall. Journal of
experimental psychology, 64(5), 482.
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2. Primacy Effect
The primacy effect is a type of observer bias induced by people remembering the first events in
a series the best. For a long time, researchers were baffled as to what created the primacy effect.
Various explanations were proposed to explain the occurrence in the 1960s. Researchers
acquired the same u-shape over and over again in single-trial free recall studies, but the primacy
effect had so far eluded explanation (Tulving, 1968; Bruce & Papay, 1970). In the 70s,
researchers discovered that the primacy effect is due to cumulative repetition of these things
leading to improved transfer of knowledge about these items to long-term storage. After the
first few things, the learner achieves a stable state of information overload, so new items in the
middle of the list are processed roughly similarly, but with less processing than the initial ones
(Rundus, 1971; Glenberg et al., 1980).
The primacy effect has also been extensively researched in the field of economics, with linkages
discovered in research on attitude development, purchase intention, and valuing an
advertisement, brand, or company (Murphy, Hofacker & Mizerski, 2006). Asch (1948) was the
first to conduct research on attitude development and presented two test groups with two
individuals with identical characteristics. However, in the case of person A, the good traits were
listed first, whereas in the case of person B, the negative traits were mentioned first. (A.
intelligent—industrious—impulsive—critical—stubborn—envious. B. envious—stubborn—
critical—impulsive—industrious—intelligent). His research found that A gives the appearance
of a capable guy with flaws that do not overwhelm his strengths. B, on the other hand, is
perceived by the majority as a "problem" whose talents are impeded by substantial challenges
(Asch, 1948).
Asch’s research on attitude development has been the basis for studies on economic impacts.
Impression creation is critical for advertising seeking behavioral change (Haugtvedt &
Wegener, 1994; Murphy, Hofacker & Mizerski, 2006). Attitudes toward the ads has also been
linked with the primacy effect (Zhao, 1997; MacKenzie, Lutz, & Belch, 1986). Furthermore,
Buda and Zhang (2000) discovered a primacy impact between information presentation and a
product's attractiveness, desire to purchase, and perceived performance (Murphy, Hofacker &
Mizerski, 2006). Finally, the desirability of options has an effect (Li & Epley, 2009). If the
elements are unfavorable, they prefer initial choices; if the components in the option set are
desired, participants choose later alternatives (Schosser, Trarbach & Vogt, 2013). This takes us
to the topic of the recency effect.
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3. Recency Effect
The recency effect is a cognitive bias in which things, ideas, or arguments that were last are
recalled more vividly than those that appeared first. This impact is said to be caused by recall
from a limited-capacity, readily accessible yet labile short-term store. This hypothesis is
reinforced by studies demonstrating that increasing the list length (Postman & Phillips, 1965)
or the speed of presentation (Murdock, 1962) has no influence on the extent of the recency
effect, as neither manipulation should change the capacity of short-term store (Glenberg et al.
1980). Nonetheless, the recency impact is negated when a full retention interval is placed
between the end of the list and the recall attempt (Glanzer & Cunitz, 1966; Postman & Phillips,
1965). This purported manipulation requires the learner to empty short-term store of the final
few list items in order to accept the new processing job filling the retention interval (Glenberg
et al. 1980).
The recency effect has also been extensively researched in the field of economics. Pathak,
Garfinkel, Gopal, Venkatesan, and Yin (2010) discovered that more recently launched
recommended items had a beneficial effect on merchants' cross-selling attempts on platforms
such as Amazon. According to Buda and Zhang (2000), advertisers should give information
from a nonexpert first and an expert last (recency effect) to have the highest probability of
influencing brand purchasing favorably (Murphy, Hofacker & Mizerski, 2006). Lastly, people
believe that the most recently sold stocks are the most salient, according to Nofsinger & Varma
(2013). Their research reveals that the presence of another previously sold stock reduces a
household's proclivity to repurchase another stock by 23%. The impact of prior profitability on
repurchasing decisions is dominated by the recency effect.
4. Conclusion
It is crucial to understand the serial position effect. The serial position effect refers to the finding
that information delivered at the start (primacy effect) and finish (recency effect) is remembered
better than information presented in the middle. In daily life, it is important to be aware of it
because you can influence how people perceive you. In business, marketers can capitalize on
the recency effect by ensuring that the beginning and finish of advertisements are pleasant and
enticing.
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