First and Last

Politicians are getting a head start on this election cycle. As a result I'm posting this series about political discourse, journalism, and surveys earlier than I had planned. My goal is to make you savvy
about all that you will see and hear. Today I'm writing about a well-known psychological phenomenon which pols and their handlers try to exploit. It's called the Recency-Primacy Effect.

Here's what it is: People are more likely to remember what occurs at the beginning and at the end. This applies to lists, events, literature, movies, and more. Political pros know this and seek to have their candidate speak or appear first or last. Aside from the psychological result, each has at least one other benefit.

Speaking first makes you memorable, but it also lets you set the agenda, to frame the debate. If you're good at this you will draw your opponent into speaking about an issue on your terms. Speaking last is memorable too, and it gives you the last word. If done well, summing up or stating your conclusion can raise doubts about everything your opponent has said.

Debates are one venue where you often observe this scramble for position. Debaters try to make a final response to a question even when it's no longer their turn. Sometimes they will begin their response to the next question by making the point they wanted to make before time or turns ran out. This is a bold attempt to seize both primacy and recency.

You'll see the same thing on Sunday talk shows: A guest tries to seize or hold the floor at the end of a joint interview, even though the host is desperate to wrap up and get to an ad . . . probably from Archer Daniels Midland, or G.E. if you're watching NBC. Journalists with an axe to grind can tilt the news by choosing whomever they wish to have the first or last word.

You will have no problem spotting the Recency-Primacy Effect, now that I've set you wise. A future post will address journalistic trickery; another will describe how statistics in general and opinion polls in particular can distort the facts.