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Home
UX Glossary
Serial Position Effect

🏁

Serial Position Effect

When presented with a list of things, people are better at remembering the first and last items, than those in the middle.

Similar psychology:

Pattern Matching
Specificity
Delegated Decisions

Likely impacts:

Attention & Interest
Complexity & Understanding
Perception of Value
Purchases
Last updated: 26/09/2026

How to utilise this in your designs

You could automatically reorder uploaded photos so the most compelling one comes first, using the Serial Position Effect to shape first impressions of a listing.

Photo upload UI shows 3 of 5 images arranged; "Let's put your best photos first. Try it" tooltip. Buttons: Back (underlined black), Next (black with white text).
Example from
Airbnb logo
Airbnb

Try showing the last scanned item inside a shopping list, leaning on the recency end of the Serial Position Effect so users instantly recall where they left off.

Your last scanned item
Example from
Waitrose logo
Waitrose

When users return to a long document, you could flag where they were last time with a timestamp, using the recency end of the Serial Position Effect to re-orient them.

5 hours ago
Example from
Microsoft Word logo
Microsoft Word

You could experiment with loading key metadata like titles before images, giving it primacy so users can choose a video before the previews appear.

YouTube dark mode UI showing six video thumbnails with titles, channels, views, and durations. No highlights, pen marks, or blue-bordered text visible.
Example from
YouTube logo
YouTube

Possible impacts

Placing the most engaging content first or last in a list could help hold users' attention for longer, as the Serial Position Effect means middle items are often skimmed past.

As seen in:
Gojek logo
Gojek
How much luggage can you bring?
Pinterest logo
Pinterest
Pinterest's drag and hold menu

Putting key features or benefits at the start or end of an explanation might help users understand and remember them more easily, rather than losing them mid-list.

As seen in:
Transit logo
Transit
Showing travel options in a timeline
Transit logo
Transit
Is it a wander or a stroll?

Showing a killer feature first during onboarding could raise how valuable users perceive the product to be, as the Serial Position Effect anchors them to it.

As seen in:
Transit logo
Transit
Showing travel options in a timeline
Sunlitt logo
Sunlitt
Showing off their 3D modeling

The order of pricing tiers could steer more purchases towards the first or last option, as the Serial Position Effect makes those tiers the most memorable.

As seen in:
12Go logo
12Go
Seating previews
Airbnb logo
Airbnb
Why not extend your trip?
Peter Ramsey, Built for Mars Founder

Written by Peter Ramsey

Consultant to 100+ companies

Published: 04/09/2023