Moral, Political, and Workplace Biases

Recency bias in performance reviews

Overweighting recent work in long-term evaluation.

What Is Recency bias in performance reviews?

Recency bias in performance reviews is a thinking trap where overweighting recent work in long-term evaluation.

How It Tricks You

It can turn partial social evidence into a confident judgment about people, motives, or groups.

Real-World Example

A recent mistake dominates an annual review.

Seen Online As

• The latest example is the one that matters most.
• After what just happened, everything before it feels irrelevant.
• That last impression completely changed how I see the whole thing.

What To Ask Instead

What happened across the full review period?

Related Thinking Traps

• Availability heuristic
• Availability cascade
• Recency bias
• Peak-end rule

Common Situations

• Thinking Traps in Relationships
• Thinking Traps at Work
• Thinking Traps in Politics

Quick FAQ

What is Recency bias in performance reviews?

Overweighting recent work in long-term evaluation.

What is an example of Recency bias in performance reviews?

A recent mistake dominates an annual review.

How do I spot Recency bias in performance reviews?

What happened across the full review period?