In a list, the better memory for items presented first. go to glossary index
(1) In free recall, the tendency to recall the first items on a list more readily than those in the middle. (2) In forming an impression of another person, the tendency to give greater weight to attributes noted at the outset than to those noted later. See also recency effect.
the process whereby our first impression of another person causes us to interpret his or her subsequent behavior in a manner consistent with the first impression
Tendency of initial impressions to remain stable over time.
The tendency for the first information received to carry more weight than later information on one's overall impression.
The tendency for information presented early in a sequence to have more impact on impressions than information presented later.
The tendency to show greater memory for information that comes first in a sequence.
Tendency for individuals to display good recall for early items in a list.
(a) In memory experiments, the tendency for initial words in a list to be recalled more readily than later words. (b) In studies of impression formation, the tendency for initial information to carry more weight than information received later.
The primacy effect, in psychology and sociology, is a cognitive bias that results from disproportionate salience of initial stimuli or observations. If, for example, a subject reads a sufficiently long list of words, he or she is more likely to remember words read toward the beginning than words read in the middle.