What do we call the phenomenon where earlier items are recalled better than those in the middle of a list?

The phenomenon where earlier items are recalled better than those in the middle of a list is known as the primacy effect. This effect occurs due to the tendency for information presented at the beginning of a list to be transferred into long-term memory more effectively than items in the middle. When we encounter a list of items, we often have more cognitive resources available at the start, allowing for greater encoding of those initial items. As we move further into the list, our attention and memory allocation may diminish, making it harder to encode mid-list items effectively.

The context of this phenomenon can be better understood through the serial position effect, which encompasses both the primacy and recency effects. The recency effect refers to the improved recall of items at the end of a list, while the primacy effect focuses specifically on those items at the beginning. Retrieval failure is a separate concept that pertains to difficulties in accessing stored memories, rather than the specific advantages of early versus middle items in a sequence.