The serial position effect is the tendency to recall the first and last items in a list better than the middle items. The advantage for early items is the primacy effect; the advantage for late items is the recency effect.

Primacy is usually attributed to greater rehearsal of the first items, allowing them to enter long-term memory. Recency is attributed to the last items still residing in short-term or working memory at the time of test. When recall is delayed, the recency effect disappears while primacy remains, supporting the dual-store interpretation. The effect appears across a wide range of materials and ages.

Practical implications follow. Important information is best placed at the beginning or end of a presentation. Studying the middle of a chapter may require extra effort or spacing to compensate for the natural disadvantage. The serial position curve remains one of the most reliable findings in memory research.

Items at the ends of a sequence enjoy a privileged place in later recall.