Which memory phenomenon includes enhanced recall of items from the beginning and end of a list?

• A. Primacy Effect
• B. Recency Effect
• C. Serial Position Effect
• D. Group Polarization

Answer: (C)

The serial position effect explains why people remember items from the beginning and end of a list better than those in the middle. It has two parts: the primacy effect and the recency effect. The primacy effect is the better recall of early items, because they receive more time and opportunity for rehearsal and transfer into long-term memory. The recency effect is the better recall of the most recent items, since they’re still in short-term or working memory at the moment of recall. Because the question points to memory for items at both the start and the end, this phenomenon is the serial position effect. The primacy or recency effects alone wouldn’t capture memory for both ends, and group polarization is about shifts in attitudes within a group, not memory.