The Basis of the Primacy Effect: Some Experiments with Running Memory

Abstract

Five experiments using the “running memory span” (RMS) technique are reported, in which subjects attempt to recall a specified number of items from the end of long sequences of digits, presented at a rate of 2/s. In Experiments I–III critical lists are included in the series which are exactly equal in length to the specified recall series. Despite the RMS set, these critical lists exhibit (I) marked primacy effects, and (2) an impairment in recall of terminal items (a “rebound effect”), compared to the baseline RMS performance. The rebound effect occurs (Experiments IV and V) even when recall of earlier items is not required. These two phenomena are robust: they occur in different experiments in which, rehearsal patterns, report order, expectancies and retrieval load are controlled. The results suggest an origin for primacy which is of a perceptual (i.e. pre-storage) nature, and that selective rehearsal is not a necessary condition for the effect to occur. A possible role of habituation of the orienting response in this phenomenon is discussed.