Human memory is a phenomenon studied extremely little. Functioning according to incomprehensible laws, memory only allows you to capture the algorithm of memorization and subsequent playback. The meaning of these laws remains a mystery, on which scientists are enthusiastically working. A pioneer in the study of memory, the German scientist German Ebbinghaus, while 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 better remembers the information at the beginning and end of an informative series. This memory property is called the edge effect. Later, in modern psychology, this phenomenon began to be studied as an effect of primacy and recentness.
The official wording described in psychology textbooks defines the effect of the edge as "a phenomenon consisting in the fact that elements located at the beginning and at the end of a given series more quickly memorize from the material that needs to be remembered."
The result of Ebbinghaus research was useful and subsequently applied in many fields: in training special services, marketing, and learning foreign languages.
The effect of the phenomenon on human behavior
Ebbinghaus' research confirmed the assumption of a longer preservation of first impressions and recent events. From a practical point of view, the proof of the theory of memory made it possible to explain many psychological paradoxes.
The effect of the edge when memorizing events has a great influence on a person's perception of the world around him. The first impression received from acquaintance with the subject is preserved and becomes a stereotype. Any subsequent communication is considered by a person through the prism of sensations received at the first glance at the object. This is what the expression "You have only one chance to make a first impression" speaks of.
Ebbinghaus Studies
The work of Ebbinghaus on the assertion of 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 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, which can create associative connections.
The method of a laboratory experiment to prove the existence of an edge effect, used by Herman Ebbinghaus, was to memorize and subsequently reproduce a meaningless and unsystematic flow of information - three-letter syllables. Multiple repetitions in 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 with 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 promotional materials so that the video or audio sequence ends with an important slogan with the brand name. Such information is completely imprinted in the brain of the consumer. "Always Coca-Cola" is an example of perfect advertising.
Every person remembers perfectly the 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. The list goes on and on. Try to remember something from the middle of the list - for example, about your third salary. The information will be foggy, it will not pop up immediately, and you will not be sure of its veracity.
An excellent illustration of the manifestation of the phenomenon of the region will be the following situation familiar to all. Obviously, when listening to several songs in memory, the final melody will be most clearly preserved. It will scroll in your brain, annoyingly interrupting thoughts. You can get rid of interfering music with the help of the edge effect, simply by putting another audio recording and stopping it in a place that will be the least irritating for you.