Scientific Definition
We remember the beginning and the end of a list better than the middle.
Plain-English Definition
We remember the beginning and the end of a list better than the middle.
Feynman Explanation
Decks die in the middle.
Core Principle
We remember the beginning and the end of a list better than the middle.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
We remember the beginning and the end of a list better than the middle.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Order matters in agendas, pitches, and product lineups.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Decks die in the middle.
Examples
- Primacy and recency effects in word recall, candidate interviews, and ballot order.
- Order matters in agendas, pitches, and product lineups.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Put what must be remembered first or last. Never bury it at position 4 of 7.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Put what must be remembered first or last. Never bury it at position 4 of 7.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
We notice what's present more than what's absent.
Vague personality descriptions feel uniquely accurate.
Doing something good gives us mental permission to do something bad.
Looking where the light is, not where the keys are.
Deriving general rules from specific examples; the leap from instance to concept.
The brain evolved to reason adaptively, not always truthfully, to reduce the cost of errors.
We solve problems by adding, even when subtracting would be better.
Assuming that if one option is true, another must be false, when both can be true.
Presuming a purposeful actor behind events that may have no actor at all.
What cannot be settled by experiment is not worth debating.
A finite set of well-defined instructions for solving a problem or performing a computation.
Every model simplifies reality; some are still useful.