The serial position effect shows that, when given a list of items to remember, we are more likely to be able to recall the items at the start of the list (called the primary effect ) and the items at the end of the list (the recency effect) but struggle with those in the middle.

The items at the start of the sequence are recalled easier as they have been rehearsed many times and may well have already been committed to the long-term memory.

The items are the end of the list are still in the short-term memory and easily recalled. The items in the middle are more likely to have been displaced.