Negative Recency

Negative Recency

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

In final free recall, items from the end of a list are recalled less well than items from the middle.

What it is

Kuhn, Lohnas and Kahana replicated negative recency within lists in final free recall, alongside the usual advantage for recent lists across lists. The effect was strongest for items recalled early in the first test, and the authors proposed a spacing account of it.

In effect

In the article on the serial position effect, it shows that the recency advantage can reverse when memory is tested later.

What it does not say

It concerns a delayed final test after several lists. It does not cancel the recency effect in immediate recall.

Sources

  1. Kuhn, J. R., Lohnas, L. J., & Kahana, M. J. (2018). A spacing account of negative recency in final free recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 44(8), 1180-1185.