serial position effect

noun

The tendency of a person to recall the first and last items in a series best, and the middle items worst.

“Meronyms: primacy effect, recency effect”

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Meanings

nounserial position effect (plural serial position effects)

plural serial position effects

  1. human sciencesThe tendency of a person to recall the first and last items in a series best, and the middle items worst.

    Meronyms: primacy effect, recency effect

Origin

Coined by Hermann Ebbinghaus.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

serial position effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/serial%20position%20effect

MLA

“serial position effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/serial%20position%20effect. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “serial position effect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/serial%20position%20effect.

Source: serial position effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.