Plain English Meaning

Whatever you learn first sticks the hardest. If it is taught wrong the first time, fixing it later is much harder than getting it right from the start.

Full Definition

A principle of learning which states that the first way a skill or piece of information is taught creates a strong, lasting impression that is difficult to change later. What a learner is taught first tends to be retained as the correct way, even if it was wrong or incomplete.

Context Anchor

Seen in flight instructor training when discussing how to teach new skills, procedures, and habits correctly from the beginning.

Derivation

From the Latin 'primus' meaning 'first.' The same root gives us 'primary' and 'prime.' In learning theory it points to the lasting power of the first impression.

Why Pilots Care

Instructors must present every new concept accurately the first time, because an early misunderstanding created by primacy is very difficult to overwrite later in training.