What is the recency effect in terms of memory?

The recency effect refers to the phenomenon where individuals have improved recall for items presented at the end of a list compared to those presented earlier. This effect occurs because the last few items in a sequence are still accessible in short-term memory at the time of recall. When individuals are asked to remember a list, these items are often more readily available and easier to retrieve due to their recent presentation.

The recency effect is part of the broader concept of the serial position effect, which describes how the position of an item in a list influences its recall ability. In this specific case, acknowledging that the most accurate recall tends to occur for the last items on the list captures the essence of the recency effect, thereby affirming the correctness of the answer. Understanding the recency effect is pertinent in cognitive psychology as it sheds light on how short-term memory structures and processes information during recall tasks.