Serial position effect#Recency effect

When Rezenzeffekt (English recency effect) is a psychological phenomenon. He says that later in-depth information a greater impact on the memory capacity of a person to exercise than they used to in-depth information. Strictly speaking the Rezenzeffekt is a phenomenon that affects short-term memory. Generally, it occurs when recently perceived information is given more weight due to better memory capacity than previous information. It occurs in almost all evaluation scenarios.

Origin of Rezenzeffektes is the longer availability of current information in short-term memory, as they are not overwritten by a descendant information. This effect is for example used in memory research to test how the capacity of your short-term memory (cf. the serial position curve of Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968, the " discoverers " of short-term memory ).

In addition, you can deal better with the last perceived information. Thus it remains rather stick in memory and has a greater impact on the setting. The Rezenzeffekt thus has a special significance with respect to assessments that take place sequentially ( for example, if a candidate is chosen for interviews after the other and discussed only at the end ).

In marketing and sales, this effect is used to bring out certain promotional messages or arguments over others (eg, the last spot in the cinema before the movie or the last argument in the sales pitch ). In the final phase of the sales pitch is called a strong argument to move a decision weak customer to buy (reserve argument technique).

The Rezenzeffekt is opposed to the so-called primary effect (English primacy effect), which plays a larger role in an overall assessment is made at the end of a row or a reproduction ( recall) must take place.