Children tend to choose the last option in a two-alternative forced choice task

the verdict

SUPPORTED

the evidence backs this

Recorded sources

2 sources for · 0 against

Counts group repeated records of the same source within each side. They do not measure evidence strength or source independence.

Evidence from developmental studies indicates that young children exhibit a robust recency tendency, making them more likely to select the final option presented in a two-alternative forced-choice task.

The analysis

Paper [1] directly investigated forced-choice responses in young children and found a strong recency tendency (choosing the second option), which is further corroborated by developmental findings on absolute recency effects in children from Paper [3]. The remaining papers do not examine this specific developmental choice bias.

Evidence for · 2

Recency Tendency: Responses to Forced‐Choice Questions

Recorded source metadata

Mehdi B. Mehrani, Carole Peterson. Recency Tendency: Responses to Forced‐Choice Questions. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3119

Demonstrates that young children (aged 3 to 5) display a consistent recency tendency, choosing the second or last option in two-alternative forced-choice questions.

Source citation format

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More for · 1

Recency and rarity effects in disambiguating the focus of utterance: A developmental study.

Recorded source metadata

Kishimoto R, Hashiya K. Recency and rarity effects in disambiguating the focus of utterance: A developmental study.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317433

Shows that school-age children exhibit an absolute recency effect where the event closest to the end of a series holds a higher likelihood of being chosen.

Source citation format

The paper trail · every fact has a biography

first checked01 Aug 2026

judged → SUPPORTED · 8301 Aug 2026

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