How the Primacy Effect Can Help You Remember Information

Your brain is complex, but once you get the hang of it — like how it can only store about seven pieces of information in short-term memory — you can use it to remember more things. However, not only the amount of information available affects your memory. Even the order in which you learn it plays a role, so understanding it can only help you remember more.

What is the primacy effect?

The American Psychological Association defines the primacy effect as “the tendency for facts, impressions, or objects presented first to be better absorbed or remembered than material presented later in the sequence.” This can happen when you study purposefully (like getting ready for school) or for fun (like when you meet someone at a party and they tell you about themselves). This can lead to “first impression bias,” which occurs when the very first piece of information you learn about someone overly colors the way you see them.

It’s part of something broader called the sequential position effect. Also on this spectrum is the novelty effect, which occurs when you remember the last thing you experienced better than anything else and refer to the seven things you can store in your working memory. This is probably due to the fact that the final information you learn is most present in your working memory.

How to use this effect to study

With the primacy effect on the one hand and the novelty effect on the other, it’s clear that anything you learn in the middle of a class session is unlikely to stick in your memory. So if you have something to learn, like a list of words or concepts, don’t learn them in the same order every time. Make flashcards and study them at different times and in a different order. Stir them between each use.

However, if there is a concept that you struggle with, try to focus on it at the beginning and at the end of each study session, maximizing the likelihood that it will stick in your brain.