Final answer:
The term to complete the sentence is "serial position effect," which describes the tendency to remember the first and the last items in a series best. It is a concept in cognitive psychology that discusses how information is remembered. The serial position effect consists of both the primacy effect for the first items and the recency effect for the last items in a sequence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The blank in the provided sentence should be filled with the term "serial position effect," which describes the phenomenon where individuals are more likely to remember the first and last items in a series more accurately. This tendency is part of cognitive psychology and relates to how information is encoded into and later retrieved from memory. Specifically, the serial position effect is evidenced by our recalling the first items (primacy effect) and the last items (recency effect) more readily than those in the middle of a list.
Understanding and identifying the serial position effect can help in various applications, such as improving study habits or presenting information in a manner that enhances retention. For instance, when studying, it might be beneficial to take breaks between topics to 'reset' the serial position curve, ensuring that the middle items of separate lists are also given more attention and thus improving overall recall.
In the broader context of cognitive biases, this effect is just one of many ways in which our cognitive processes influence memory and decision-making. For example, the availability heuristic causes us to overestimate the importance of information that comes to mind easily, while confirmation bias leads us to pay more attention to evidence that supports our pre-existing beliefs, potentially at the expense of overlooking contradictory information.