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The Incentives Lab
HBT-COG-0564 · Dimension COG · Cognition

Recency Bias

Overweighting whatever just happened.

Memory Bias·Cognitive Bias·Grade B·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Overweighting whatever just happened.

Plain-English Definition

Overweighting whatever just happened.

Feynman Explanation

One bad quarter is now the personality of the whole strategy.

Core Principle

Overweighting whatever just happened.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Overweighting whatever just happened.

Behavioral Economic

Pending editorial review.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Pending editorial review.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

One bad quarter is now the personality of the whole strategy.

Examples

Everyday
  • Last week's customer complaint reshapes a 10-year roadmap.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Strategy whiplash; teams replan around whatever's still warm.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Compare current data against rolling multi-year baselines.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
B (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★★☆☆
Intervention Confidence
3 / 5
Consensus
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Limitations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Open Research Questions

Pending editorial review.

Primary References

Pending editorial review.

Signature Section

The Perverse Incentive Lens™

How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.

Exploitation
The latest model demo distorts a two-year investment plan.
Amplifying Incentives
Strategy whiplash; teams replan around whatever's still warm.
Org Failure Modes
Strategy whiplash; teams replan around whatever's still warm.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Compare current data against rolling multi-year baselines.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Compare current data against rolling multi-year baselines.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Compare current data against rolling multi-year baselines.
Team
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Organization
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Policy
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
AI Implications
Detection
The latest model demo distorts a two-year investment plan.
Measurement
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Mitigation
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Responsible Use
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).

Interactive Mini Network

Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.

HBT-COG-0564 · COG
Recency Bias
RBAHAvailability HeuristicCBChoice-Supportive BiasHBHindsight BiasPRPeak-End RuleRRRosy RetrospectionABAction BiasAHAffect HeuristicAAAmbiguity AversionABAnchoring BiasApApophenia

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

v1.1.0 · 2026-06-28Initial auto-seed from corpus.