Serial position effect

The serial position effect is a cognitive bias in which we remember the beginning and the end of a longer list best, while the middle part slips from our minds fastest. It is made up of two phenomena. The primacy effect means we have time to store the first items in more lasting memory, and the recency effect means the last items are still fresh in our minds. The middle gets no advantage and fades. This simple principle has a surprisingly large impact on how to order information, products and arguments.

Classification of the cognitive bias

• Cause (Cognitive Bias Codex): What should we remember
• Mental area: Memory
• Marketing function: Memory and perception
• Buyer journey: Consideration
• Cialdini’s principles: not applicable
• System 1 / System 2: System 1 (fast, automatic)

In brief

• What it is: we remember the beginning and end of a list and forget the middle.
• Why we do it: the first items get stored, the last are fresh, the middle has no advantage.
• Where you encounter it: menus, product order, presentations, lists of benefits.
• How to use it: put the most important things at the beginning and the end.

A real-life story

The groundwork was laid at the end of the 19th century by the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, a pioneer of memory research. While learning long series of nonsense syllables, he noticed that he reliably remembered those at the beginning and end, whereas the ones in the middle escaped him. Later experiments confirmed this in detail. When you ask people to memorise a list of words, they recall the most from the start and the end, and the fewest from the middle.

Imagine Jan in a restaurant. He reads a long menu, but after a while he mainly recalls the first few dishes and the last ones. Whatever was somewhere in the middle might as well not have been there. A chef who knows about the serial position effect therefore places the most profitable dishes at the beginning and end of a section, not in the middle.

How the serial position effect works

The first items have an advantage because attention is at its freshest at that moment and they have time to move into long-term memory. The last items, in turn, are still in our short-term memory, so we can easily repeat them. The middle part competes with both and loses. The effect is close to the peak-end rule, where the end of an experience carries the most weight, and it underpins why we notice things that stand out, as described by the Von Restorff effect.

Use in marketing

1. Most important at the edges. Put key benefits, products or arguments at the beginning and the end, not in the middle.
2. Order in price lists and menus. Place the most profitable items where the customer will remember them.
3. Presentation structure. Open strongly and close strongly. The middle is for elaboration, not for the punchline.
4. The last impression in communication. People remember the end of an email, video or call the most.
5. Short lists. The shorter the list, the smaller the gap in the middle. Do not lose your key message in the middle of a long list.

How to work with the serial position effect

1. Do not rely on the middle. If you need people to remember something, do not put it in the middle.
2. Repeat what matters. Say the key point at the beginning and again at the end.
3. Keep it short. A shorter list means less of a forgotten middle.

How it interacts with other biases

The serial position effect and the peak-end rule complement each other perfectly when designing the customer journey. Serial position says we remember the beginning and the end, and the peak-end rule adds that the emotional peak and the last impression are key. If, together with the Von Restorff effect, you highlight one thing in the middle, you can rescue even the middle that would otherwise get lost. In practice, this means a strong opening, one unforgettable moment in the middle and an excellent ending.

Frequently asked questions

What is the serial position effect?

A cognitive bias in which we remember the beginning and end of a list best, while we forget the middle part fastest.

What does the serial position effect consist of?

The primacy effect, where we remember the first items, and the recency effect, where the last ones are still fresh in our minds.

Patrik Pilous

I am a marketing strategist and SEO consultant. I love the world of marketing, the internet and AI. I am at my best when planning business growth, setting and executing marketing strategy and optimising websites (SEO, GEO and, above all, sales).