Serial Position Effect
When given a list of items, people are more likely to remember the first few and the last few, while the items in the middle tend to blur
Why it matters
Order is a design decision: the first and last items in any list get remembered; the middle is where options go to be forgotten. Put what matters at the edges — menus, onboarding steps and pricing tiers all obey.
See it
Close your eyes and try the list back — the middle went first. Now check where products hide the options they must offer but do not want chosen.
The numbers
- Primacy + recency — the two effects behind the U-curve
Related terms
Ask your assistant
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