Which phenomenon refers to the tendency to rate recent events more favorably?

The phenomenon that refers to the tendency to rate recent events more favorably is known as the recency phenomenon. This cognitive bias occurs when individuals give greater weight to recent experiences or information in their evaluations, often leading to inflated ratings of performance, satisfaction, or quality based on what has happened most recently.

In various contexts, particularly in performance evaluations or survey responses, the recency phenomenon can significantly affect outcomes. For example, if an employee performs exceptionally well in the last few weeks of a performance review period, their overall rating might be higher than it would have been if all performance was considered equally, regardless of time. This can create skewed perceptions and evaluations, emphasizing the importance of understanding and mitigating such biases in organizational settings.

The other options describe different biases or effects: the halo effect involves allowing one positive characteristic to influence the overall judgment; the leniency error is about rating individuals more favorably than they deserve; and favoritism bias refers to preferential treatment based on personal connections or preferences. None of these accurately describes the specific tendency to favor recent events over all experiences.