Suffix effect

Biological Parallel

Songbirds tracking territorial calls lose memory of previous songs when a new call arrives—working memory treats sequential sounds as updates, not additions. Zebra finches learning songs from tutors encode note sequences until a new tutor song overwrites working memory, treating the latest input as the current template. Superb fairy-wrens defending territories track rival male calls in sequence, but memory of earlier calls degrades when new calls arrive—the auditory stream prioritizes recent signals as likely updates to threat assessment. This is adaptive stream processing: when information arrives in temporal sequence, later signals likely replace rather than supplement earlier ones. For meetings: 'Any questions?' after presenting data overwrites the data in auditory memory, which is why effective facilitators pause before asking.