Welcome back to our series on cognitive biases! We’ve previously explored a range of mental shortcuts, from our “knew-it-all-along” feeling (hindsight bias) to our tendency to attribute positive outcomes to ourselves (self-serving bias). Today, we’re delving into a bias that often makes us feel an instant connection with others: Affinity Bias.
Have you ever been in an interview and felt an immediate rapport with a candidate because you discovered you both went to the same university or share a passion for the same obscure hobby? Or perhaps you’ve felt more comfortable seeking advice from a colleague who reminds you of yourself? This feeling of connection is often a sign of affinity bias in action.
What Exactly Is Affinity Bias?
Affinity bias is a cognitive shortcut where we unconsciously favor people who are similar to us. This similarity can be based on a wide range of factors, including background, education, interests, experiences, or even appearance. Our brains are wired to find comfort in the familiar, and we tend to trust and feel more favorably towards people who we perceive as being “like us.”
While it’s a natural human tendency to seek connection, this bias can lead to unfair decisions and a lack of diversity, as we subconsciously give more opportunities and credit to those who mirror our own characteristics or life paths.
The Power of Similarity: Real-World Examples
Affinity bias is a subtle but powerful force in many aspects of our lives, both personally and professionally:
- Hiring: A hiring manager might give more weight to a candidate who shares their alma mater or worked at a company they are familiar with, overlooking other, more qualified applicants.
- Mentorship: An employee might subconsciously seek out a mentor who looks and acts like them, even if a mentor with a different background might offer a more valuable and challenging perspective.
- Networking: We often gravitate towards people in our social and professional circles who share our hobbies or interests, which can limit our exposure to new ideas and broaden our network.
- Team Dynamics: In a team setting, a manager might show more appreciation for the ideas of a team member who has a similar communication style or thought process, unintentionally marginalizing others.
- Performance Reviews: A manager might unintentionally give a more favorable review to an employee they feel a personal connection with, even if that employee’s objective performance is not superior to their peers.
The Dangers of Sticking with the Similar
While it’s not inherently wrong to connect with people who are like us, allowing affinity bias to go unchecked can lead to significant problems:
- Homogeneity: It creates teams, organizations, and social groups that lack diversity, which stifles creativity and innovation. When everyone thinks the same way, it’s harder to solve complex problems.
- Unfairness: It leads to an uneven playing field in hiring and promotions, as merit and skill can be overlooked in favor of personal fit and perceived similarity.
- Groupthink: A lack of diverse perspectives can lead to groupthink, where challenging ideas are discouraged, and poor decisions are made as a result.
- Missed Opportunities: We fail to tap into the richness of different experiences and viewpoints, missing out on potential insights and solutions we could have gained from those who are different from us.
How to Mitigate Affinity Bias
The key to overcoming affinity bias is not to stop connecting with people, but to become aware of your unconscious preferences and implement strategies that ensure fairness and objectivity:
- Increase Self-Awareness: The first step is to recognize that you are susceptible to this bias. Pay attention to who you instinctively favor and why.
- Define Objective Criteria: Before making a decision (e.g., in a hiring process), clearly define the necessary skills and qualifications. Evaluate candidates based on those points, not on personal feelings of rapport.
- Use Diverse Panels: Involve people from different backgrounds in interviews and other decision-making processes. This helps to balance out individual biases.
- Practice Conscious Inclusion: Make a deliberate effort to seek out and listen to the opinions of people who are different from you. Value their unique perspectives and challenge yourself to learn from them.
- Conduct Blind Reviews: When possible, remove identifying information like names, schools, or other potential sources of bias from resumes or applications to focus purely on skills and experience.
By becoming aware of our tendency to gravitate toward the familiar, we can ensure that our decisions are based on merit and reason, leading to more diverse, innovative, and fair outcomes for everyone.
Read an overview of cognitives biases, and find all the articles on cognitive biases.
