Which effect describes the tendency to remember the most recently presented items best?

The recency effect refers to the phenomenon where individuals tend to recall the most recently presented information more effectively than earlier information. This is particularly observable in situations such as list learning, where items presented at the end of a list are remembered more readily than those in the middle of the list.

This effect can be attributed to the fact that the most recent items remain active in short-term memory or working memory when retrieval occurs. Therefore, when individuals are asked to recall information after a short delay, they are more likely to remember the items they encountered most recently. This effect emphasizes the impact of the temporal order of information on memory recall, illustrating how our memory is influenced by the sequence in which we receive information.

While the primacy effect refers to better recall of items presented at the beginning of a list due to more time for rehearsal, the recency effect is distinct as it specifically addresses the last items encountered. Long-term potentiation involves synaptic strengthening that underlies learning and memory processes, while eidetic memory refers to an unusually vivid or detailed recall of imagery after only a brief exposure, neither of which applies to the effect in question.