
If an individual feels the majority of the group are leaning towards/away from a certain choice, they will tend to go along with the group, rather than voice their own opinions. Just think how this may play out in a panel talking about a candidate. But, when the individual who doesn’t know this is a test gives the correct answer is informed that the rest of the group has said Line B, in 75% of cases the individual decides to scrap their own opinion in favour of the groups’ opinion. We can see that line A of Exhibit 2 matches the line in Exhibit 1. The rest of the group is told to give the wrong answer. One individual is told to say what they think. In the study, a group of people is asked to look at the picture above and say which line in Exhibit 2 matches the line in Exhibit 1. In recruitment, the following types of bias are all very common:īased on a famous study that’s been around for decades, conformity bias relates to bias caused by group peer pressure. Types of bias and how they affect your recruiting process By acknowledging the different types of unconscious bias we can start to address them. So, how do you stop yourself from falling prey to the dangers of unconscious bias? The first step is simple – make the unconscious, conscious. Whether we are aware of it or not, each and every one of these things will affect who we select to come in for an interview, how we interview them, who we hire and our reasons for hiring them. Our Micro-affirmations – how much or how little we comfort certain people in certain situations.Our Listening Skills – how much we actively listen to what certain people say.

Our Attention – which aspects of a person we pay most attention to.Our Behaviours – how receptive/friendly we are towards certain people.Our Attitude – how we react towards certain people.Our Perception – how we see people and perceive reality.“But more than two decades of research confirms that, in reality, most of us fall woefully short of our inflated self-perception.”īiases affects us and our decision-making processes in a number of different ways: We imagine we’re good decision makers, able to objectively size up a job candidate or a venture deal and reach a fair and rational conclusion that’s in our, and our organisation’s, best interests,” writes Harvard University researcher Mahzarin Banaji in the Harvard Business Review. “Most of us believe that we are ethical and unbiased. It’s just a deep seated, unconscious stereotype that’s been formed in our brains through years of different influences we often had no control over. It’s important to mention, however, that most bias stereotypes do not come from a place of bad intent. Things like how or where we’ve been brought up, how we’ve been socialised, our exposure to other social identities and social groups, who our friends are/were, as well as media influences, all affect how we think and feel about certain types of people. Why? Well, our feelings about gender and the stereotypes we’ve all associated with gender are something we’ve developed throughout our whole lives.

For example, one of the strongest biases we have in the workplace is gender bias. One of the most prominent areas of life where bias can play out is the workplace. So, unconscious biases are unconscious feelings we have towards other people – instinctive feelings that play a strong part in influencing our judgements away from being balanced or even-handed. And the answers to these are influenced heavily by something researchers refer to as “unconscious bias.”īias is an inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group. Decisions about the content, the questions being asked of you. Even as you sit here reading this, you’re making decisions.

Investors subject to affinity bias can make investments in companies that make products or deliver services that they like but do not examine carefully enough the soundness of the investment characteristics of those companies.We make countless decisions every day without even realising it. One of the implications for affinity bias is that investors decide to invest in weak or otherwise unsound companies that reflect expressive characteristics rather than utilitarian characteristics in a misguided attempt to achieve investment success. Investors who concentrate their holdings in their home country or state gain the expressive benefit of patriotism however, may potentially lose the utilitarian benefits of high returns and low risk that come to those who invest elsewhere. A useful application of affinity bias in the investment realm is patriotism. This chapter focuses on affinity bias that refers to an individual's tendency to make irrationally uneconomical consumer choices or investment decisions based on how they believe a certain product or service will reflect their values.
