So how'd you do remembering that grocery list? Well, if you're like many
people, you might have remembered the very beginning or perhaps the very end of
the list. This is not uncommon and psychologists actually have a term for why
we tend to remember things at the beginning and things at the end, but perhaps
not the middle of a list. This is called Serial Position Effect. This is our
tendency to have better recall for the things that are at the beginning of a
list or at the end of a list, because of their particular position on the list.
The ability to remember things at the beginning of a list, is called primacy
effect. On the other hand, the ability to recall items at the end of a list, is
called recency effect. So, you may think, why is it important whether I
remember things at the beginning of my list, or at the end of my list. Well
just be aware of the serial positioning effect may have particular value. One
thing Susan always tells her students is that serial positioning effect can be
a strategy for studying. It's always a good idea to make flash cards. Put a
term you're trying to remember on one side of the flash card. And a definition
or an example on the other side of the flash card. There's two ways to study.
One is to begin by looking at the term you're trying to remember the definition
or the example for. The other is to flip it around and read the definition and
the example and try to remember the term.
