Recency effect
Memory effect
The last items in a list or sequence are remembered better than those in the middle, usually because they are still fresh in short-term memory. Recent events can also weigh too heavily in our judgments.
In everyday life
At review time, a manager's rating is shaped mostly by an employee's work in the last few weeks of the year.
When your coach asks which of today's twelve drills felt hardest, the only ones you can bring to mind are the final two.
Why your mind does this
We cannot hold every moment of an experience or every item in a list in mind. The brain keeps a few standout pieces, such as the most intense moment, the ending, or the first and last items, and lets them stand for the whole. This makes memories compact and quick to use.
Its family, in 30 seconds: Key elements
How to spot it
Ask whether your judgment rests mostly on the last things you saw or heard.
What you can do
Review notes from the whole period, such as the full year for a performance review, before making a judgment.
Same family: Key elements
SourcesGlanzer & Cunitz (1966)·Wikipedia