Human memory is a phenomenon that has been studied very little. Functioning according to laws that are incomprehensible to us, memory only allows us to capture the algorithm of memorization and subsequent reproduction. The meaning of these laws remains a mystery, over which scientists are enthusiastically working. A pioneer in the study of memory, the German scientist Hermann Ebbinghaus, conducting experiments, deduced several general patterns.
The concept and application of the edge effect
Ebbinghaus discovered the phenomenon of memorization, the principle of which was the fact that a person remembers information better at the beginning and end of an informative series. This property of memory is called the edge effect. Later, in modern psychology, this phenomenon began to be studied as the effect of primacy and recentness.
The official wording, described in psychology textbooks, defines the edge effect as "the phenomenon consisting in the fact that from the material arranged in a row to be memorized, elements located at the beginning and at the end of this row are learned faster."
The result of Ebbinghaus's research was useful andsubsequently used in many areas: in the training of special services, marketing, learning foreign languages.
The influence of the phenomenon on human behavior
Ebbinghaus's research confirmed the assumptions about longer retention of first impressions and recent events in memory. From a practical point of view, the proof of the theory of memory has made it possible to explain many psychological paradoxes.
The edge effect when remembering events has a great influence on a person's perception of the surrounding world. The first impression received from acquaintance with the subject is preserved and becomes a stereotype. Any subsequent communication is viewed by a person through the prism of sensations received at the first glance at the object. That's what the expression "You only get one chance to make a first impression" is all about.
Ebbinghaus Research
Ebbinghaus's work on the existence of the edge effect in psychology has become part of the theory of memory. The psychologist considered "pure" memory as the object of his research - the process of mechanical memorization without the participation of the mind. For the transparency of the experiments, the scientist used the material he invented - meaningless syllables. Such initial data excluded the duality of experiments, when it is impossible to distinguish the influence of memory from the activity of the mind, capable of creating associative links.
Laboratory experiment method to prove the existence of the edge effect, used by Hermann Ebbinghaus,consisted in memorizing and subsequent reproduction of a meaningless and unsystematic flow of information - three-letter syllables. Multiple repetitions under different conditions led to the same result: the middle of the stimulus informative series is remembered much longer than the first and last syllables. The phenomenon invariably worked both in the case of direct reproduction of memorized information, and in the case of delayed fixation of the result.
Examples and applications of the phenomenon
There are many areas where the edge effect is applied. An example of this phenomenon is advertising. Marketers design advertising materials in such a way that the video or audio sequence ends with an important slogan with the brand name. Such information will be completely imprinted in the brain of the consumer. Always Coca-Cola is the ideal advertisement.
In the memory of every person, memories of the first teacher, the first love, the first job and the first money received, the first car, the last and first day of the year are perfectly preserved. The list is endless. Try to remember something from the middle of the list - for example, about your third salary. The information will be vague, will not come up immediately, and you will not be sure of its veracity.
An excellent illustration of the manifestation of the edge phenomenon will be the following familiar situation. Obviously, when listening to several songs, the final melody will remain most vividly in memory. It will scroll in your brain, annoyingly interrupting thoughts. You can get rid of disturbing music with the help of the edge effect, simply by playing another audio recording and stopping it at the place that will be the least annoying for you.
