Recency Bias
Recency bias is giving the most recent information more weight in memory and judgment than it deserves relative to everything that came before.
Full definition of Recency Bias →:: COMPARE ::
Recency biasvsPrimacy effect
The short answer
The two ends of the same U-shaped curve, differing in mechanism and durability. Primacy is attributed to rehearsal into longer-term memory and survives a delay; recency reflects still-active short-term memory and collapses once you're distracted. What you say first shapes the lasting impression; what you say last shapes the impression in the room.
Side by side
| Aspect | Recency bias | Primacy effect |
|---|---|---|
| Favours | The last items | The first items |
| Mechanism | Short-term memory | Rehearsal |
| Survives delay | No | Yes |
| Best for | Immediate decisions | Later ones |
What each one means
Primacy Effect
The primacy effect is the tendency to remember, and be disproportionately influenced by, whatever came first in a sequence.
Full definition of Primacy Effect →