What does recency bias focus on?

Recency bias focuses on the tendency to give greater importance to the most recent information or experiences when making judgments or decisions. This cognitive bias can lead individuals to prioritize recent actions or events over earlier ones, potentially skewing their perceptions and assessments.

For example, in performance evaluations, if an employee has performed exceptionally well recently, this positive behavior might overshadow their prior performance, even if it was consistently average or poor. Thus, the focus is on the most recent actions, which can influence conclusions drawn about competence, behavior, or outcomes more than earlier data would suggest.

This understanding is crucial in various contexts, including psychology, decision-making, and social interactions, where how recent experiences weigh on our decisions is significant.