What cognitive phenomenon involves the recalling of initial and final items better than those in between?

The cognitive phenomenon that describes the tendency to better recall the first and last items in a list compared to those in the middle is known as the serial position effect. This concept encapsulates both the primacy effect, which refers specifically to the enhanced memory for items presented at the beginning of a list, and the recency effect, which pertains to better recall of items presented at the end of a list. The serial position effect highlights how position within a sequence significantly influences memory retention, illustrating that our recall is not uniformly distributed across a list. Instead, items at the extremes are more easily remembered due to factors like increased attention or rehearsal opportunities. Understanding this effect can aid in learning and memory strategies, emphasizing the importance of the order in which information is presented.