Transitory Changes of Primacy and Recency in Successive Single-Trial Free Recall

Transitory changes of primacy and recency in successive single-trial free recall were investigated in three experiments. A trial-by-trial analysis of the serial position curves indicated a pronounced primacy and a moderate recency on the very first recall trial. The primacy reduced and the recency increased rapidly afterward with a concurrent shift in correlation (from positive to negative) between the input and output order of the items recalled and an increase in output priority of end items. The effects of release of interlist proactive interference (PI) on the primacy and recency were studied in Experiments 2 and 3. Release of interlist PI recovered and maintained the pronounced primacy and the overall recall performance. In addition, the output priority of end items and the correlation between the input and output order of the recalled items did not change significantly when the interlist PI was controlled. Therefore, interlist PI affected the primacy; recall strategy or output priority affected the recency; and the development of recall strategy relied on the presence of interlist PI.