primacy effect

An effect observed in cognitive psychology wherein the items at the beginning of a list are more easily recalled than the items in the middle or the end. This effect is related to, but substantially stronger than, the recency effect.

The primacy effect is the tendency to remember the earliest items in a memory-set. The primacy effect is mostly attributed to the subjects opportunity to rehearse the earliest items, while the middle items are often forgotten. The last items in a memory may or may not be remembered.