Effect of primacy: definition, features, example

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Interpersonal social psychology is an extremely subtle science. There are generally accepted, basic principles that it obeys, but we all know for sure that each person is individual, and his perception of the environment is just as individual. It is explained by many factors and terms, and one of them is the primacy effect. What is this conclusion and how can it be characterized? We will understand this with the help of dictionaries and illustrative examples.

Official interpretation of the term

In psychology, the primacy effect is called a higher probability of remembering the first elements of a series, or the first actions and actions of a person, or the first impressions of something or someone. At the same time, those actions / elements / impressions that are, as it were, in the middle or at the end are intentionally missed by memory, or are stored in it forsurface level. In the future, when a person encounters the object that previously made some impression on him, the very primacy effect is triggered, due to which he remembers only the very initial sensations and is guided solely by those, making further conclusions and conclusions.

Dictionaries give us a fairly complete and clear concept of this term, but for some people scientific words remain a mystery. Therefore, we decided to tell about all the intricacies of this phenomenon using illustrative examples and in a more accessible language.

Sociological description

We decided to start with this category, since we all live in society and most interactions occur with other people, and not with objects or objects. People evoke the strongest emotions in us, memories, feelings, certain personalities are key in our lives. Remember the old quote: "You can't make a first impression twice." Why do they say that? The thing is that most people remember other individuals precisely based on the starting experience of communication (even if it is non-verbal). Further actions of the individual are always justified by his initial actions, manners, words. We always "try on" the image of a person, seen in him for the first time, on his modern appearance, even if he has changed. Let's look at the simplest example: you meet your friends' little daughter for 5 years, she is a fair-haired sweet girl. After your communication with comrades stopsfor 15 years, and now you meet again, and you see in front of you no longer a little girl, into an adult woman. But you can't get rid of the feeling that somewhere inside her is the same baby.

Other examples

The effect of primacy most often occurs in the circle of colleagues, when certain people come to the company for the first time, demonstrating themselves from one side or another. In most cases, directors remember their subordinates exactly as they appeared to them at the interview. Perhaps that is why we are so worried before the next interview with the employer and think it over carefully. A similar effect of primacy occurs in friendly companies. When new people come, you mark each of them with some word or associate with one or another association. This is how this person will be in your mind throughout time, even if in the future he will completely change for the rest of the world. Someone will always be the soul of the company for you, someone will be a silent sage, and someone will be a guy from a neighboring yard, even if he lives in a completely different area.

Positive VS negative

That unfortunate first impression is the key to our success. We make up pictures in our head about others, based on their first actions, and they do exactly the same. Therefore, it is extremely important to make a positive opinion about yourself in the brain of this or that person (or better, everyone you know at once). The point is that the primacy effect iskind of filter. When you say something to a certain person, or do something, he will pass it all through his "primacy filter". Therefore, if you initially appeared before him in a negative light, then even the most noble deeds will now be shrouded in a gloomy hue, negative backgrounds and dirty tricks will be sought in them. On the contrary, if the first impression of you was amazing, then any flaws will get away with you - well, just think, it happens to everyone, nothing, he will improve.

Persons and society

All that was said above is information that is both relevant to all the people of the world and not. The fact is that the effect of primacy is the perception of only starting forms and movements, which is only one of several. That is, it is like brown eyes - it is common among all people on the globe, but not everyone has it. There are people who, on the contrary, "cling" to the latest actions of their acquaintances, or they remember some "middle" situations that they liked only, and set them as a "filter". Moreover, our mental activity is strongly corrected by the environment in which we find ourselves - culture, politics, the media, etc. Therefore, the brain adapts to such diversity, and even if the primacy effect is atypical for you, it can occur when thinking about specific schemes or ideas. For example, your opinion about a certain actor, about a distant city, about an advertised product. Otherwise, you will think completely differently.

Preparing for the exam

Often the primacy effect occurs when we need to remember a large amount of information. Most often this happens before passing exams, when you have to read, write and study a lot. If your brain works exactly according to this scheme - it remembers the very first thing, then you can use this. Learn the most important first, and leave the less significant for later. The second useful point derived from this type of thinking is the use of synonyms. You will perfectly remember the first ticket that you have learned, and when you come across the same words or numbers in the next ones that were in the first one, you will automatically remember this information.

But we draw your attention to the fact that if there is too much information, the primacy effect can be suppressed, and the only thing you can remember is the last phrases you learned.