What is the term for the tendency of an interviewer to favor candidates interviewed last?

The correct term for the tendency of an interviewer to favor candidates interviewed last is recency bias. This psychological phenomenon occurs because recent experiences tend to have a more prominent place in memory, influencing decision-making. When interviewers evaluate candidates, they may unconsciously give greater weight to those they interacted with last, simply because these candidates are fresher in their minds. This bias can lead to distorted evaluations, as the first candidates may not receive fair consideration compared to the most recently interviewed ones.

The nuances of the other concepts clarify why they don't apply in this context. Confirmation bias refers to the tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs or hypotheses, which does not specifically relate to the order of interviewees. The availability heuristic involves relying on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a specific topic, which is also not directly linked to the sequence of candidate interviews. Lastly, the anchoring effect refers to the cognitive bias where individuals rely too heavily on an initial piece of information when making decisions; while it influences judgment, it does not focus on the favoring of candidates based on their position in the interview schedule. Therefore, recency bias accurately describes the specific tendency being addressed in the question.