Why do we only remember the first things on our grocery list?

Primacy Effect

, explained.
Bias

What is the Primacy Effect?

The primacy effect is the tendency to remember the first piece of information we encounter better than information presented later on.

The image illustrates the "Primacy Effect" with a graph showing retention over time, highlighting three zones: "Zone of Premium Remembering" at the start, "Zone of Huh?" in the middle, and "Zone of Recent Things" at the end, emphasizing better memory retention at the beginning and end of a sequence.

Where this bias occurs

The primacy effect can occur in a variety of ways. For example, when an individual tries to remember something from a long list of words, they will remember words listed at the beginning, instead of the middle. The primacy effect aids an individual in recalling information they first see better than information presented later on.1

To cater to this cognitive bias, companies often use television, radio, internet, and print advertising to present us with the first impression of their product or service, even before it is available. Additionally, this technique is used in news stories about upcoming phone releases or movie previews. There is often an incentive to make sure the first news you hear about a product is positive.

Sources

  1. Primacy effect in Memory – IResearchNet. (2016, January 27). Retrieved https://psychology.iresearchnet.com/social-psychology/social-cognition/primacy-effect-in-memory/
  2. Cherry, K. (n.d.). 4 Common Decision-Making Biases, Fallacies, and Errors. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/problems-in-decision-making-2795486
  3. Anchoring Bias – Biases & Heuristics. (2019, September 09). Retrieved from https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/anchoring-bias/
  4. Koppell, J. G., & Steen, J. A. (2004). The Effects of Ballot Position on Election Outcomes. The Journal of Politics, 66(1), 267-281. doi:10.1046/j.1468-2508.2004.00151.x
  5. Miller, J. M., & Krosnick, J. A. (1998). The Impact of Candidate Name Order on Election Outcomes. Public Opinion Quarterly, 62(3), 291. doi:10.1086/297848
  6. Belmore, S. M., & Hubbard, M. L. (1987). The role of advance expectancies in person memory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(1), 61-70. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.53.1.61
  7. Webster, D. M., Richter, L., & Kruglanski, A. W. (1996). On Leaping to Conclusions When Feeling Tired: Mental Fatigue Effects on Impressional Primacy. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 32(2), 181-195. doi:10.1006/jesp.1996.0009
  8. Cherry, K. (2019, September 24). Meet the Social Psychologist Behind the Conformity Experiments. Retrieved July 19, 2020, from https://www.verywellmind.com/solomon-asch-biography-2795519
  9. Asch, S. E. (1946). Forming impressions of personality. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 41(3), 258-290. doi:10.1037/h0055756
  10. Hamm, T. (2012, September 06). The Primacy and Recency Effect and Your Next Purchase. Retrieved July 19, 2020, from https://www.thesimpledollar.com/save-money/the-primacy-and-recency-effect-and-your-next-purchase/
  11. Hiring TruthsManagers Reveal Their Practices and Opinions. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.simplyhired.com/guide/studies/hiring-truths

About the Authors

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Dan Pilat

Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.

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Dr. Sekoul Krastev

Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.

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