Definition The primacy effect denotes the phenomenon that after encountering a long list of items, one will more likely be able to recall the first few items from that list than items than from later parts of the list. In a typical study investigating the primacy effect, participants are sequentially presented with a list of words, each being presented for a fixed amount of time. [Source: Encyclopedia of Social Psychology; Primacy Effect, Memory]
social cognition
memory and primary effect
concepts