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recency effect

A Dictionary of Sociology | 1998 | 354 words | Copyright

recency effect A recency effect is the tendency for individuals to be most influenced by what they have last seen or heard, because people tend to retain the most complete knowledge about the most recent events. However, under certain circumstances, primacy effects prevail and sometimes the first rather than the last event will be the most influential.

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GORDON MARSHALL. "recency effect." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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