Bias is one of the psychological effects inherent in humans. Understanding bias can help you understand consumer psychology and develop effective
marketing strategies
.
In this article, we will explain the meaning and overview of bias, its types and effects, and examples of its use in
marketing
. If you want to learn more about bias or apply it to marketing, please refer to this article.
What is bias?
Bias is a term that generally refers to some kind of prejudice, preconception, or one-sided viewpoint. It is a concept used in various fields such as psychology, statistics, and research methodology, and the specific usage differs depending on the field.
As explained below, there are many different types of bias, each with different meanings and effects. Understanding the different types of bias and applying them correctly can be useful in marketing, so be aware of the differences between them.
Type of bias
There are many different types of bias, as shown below.
I will explain each in detail.
normalcy bias
Normalcy bias refers to the tendency for people to assume that the world around them is essentially safe, predictable, and operating normally. Under the influence of normalcy bias, people may underestimate the occurrence of negative events or abnormal situations for them.
For example, being overconfident that an earthquake will not occur in your area and neglecting to take the necessary preparations is a type of normalcy bias. Another example of normalcy bias is that we continue to eat unhealthy foods, thinking, “I’m still young and I’ve always been healthy, so it’s okay to continue eating junk food.”
synchrony bias
Conformity bias is a psychological term that describes the tendency of humans to conform their opinions and actions to those of the group around them. Conformity bias affects many situations, such as opinions in meetings, choices among friends, and decisions when purchasing products.
For example, when a certain fashion starts to become popular, the phenomenon in which people tend to wear the same clothes because they see people around them wearing them, rather than whether or not they like them, can also be called conformity bias. Masu.
survivor bias
Survivorship bias refers to the tendency to focus only on cases of success or survival and ignore cases of failure or failure. For example, let’s say someone who graduated from a famous university is successful.
Feeling that entering a famous university is the only path to success ignores the fact that there are cases of success even without graduating from a famous university, and it can be said that survivor bias is at work. Masu.
Also, when people who have lived a long time say, “Early to bed and early to rise is the secret to longevity,” some people assume that going to bed early and getting up early has the effect of longevity, but it is important to note that there are actually other reasons that are related to longevity. Must be. We only see success stories and assume that it is normal.
confirmation bias
Confirmation bias refers to the tendency to select information that supports one’s beliefs and opinions, and ignore or downplay information that disproves it. For example, let’s say you have a product that you want.
Confirmation bias is when you only look at the good reviews for the product you want and overlook the bad reviews.
Also, when investing in stocks, real estate, etc., you can only look at the positive aspects of the company or region you think you should invest in, and overlook the negative aspects and risks. This can also be called confirmation bias. It is influenced by the psychological process of trying to justify one’s thoughts and predictions.
hindsight bias
Hindsight bias is the tendency to think after something has happened that you knew it all along. For example, after a sports game or election results are announced, hindsight bias is when you think, “I knew that team would win,” or “I knew that candidate would win.”
In addition, although it is inherently extremely difficult to predict stock price movements, hindsight bias also causes people who say “I knew it would happen” after a large rise or fall in stock prices. I can say that I am working.
Once the outcome becomes clear, it seems inevitable and we believe that we had foreseen it.
self-serving bias
Self-serving bias is when we attribute our successes to ourselves and our failures to other people or circumstances. For example, when students get a good grade on an exam, they tend to think that it is the result of their own efforts and study.
However, if you get a bad grade, the exam question was difficult, the teacher’s explanation was insufficient, other students were noisy and you couldn’t concentrate, etc., and you tend to blame factors other than yourself for your failure. Servant bias.
When the self-serving bias is activated, if the result is good, we believe it was because we worked hard, and if the result is bad, we think that it was “bad luck” or “the circumstances around us were bad.”
ingroup bias
Ingroup bias refers to the psychological tendency to believe that the group or group to which one belongs (ingroup) is better than other groups or groups (outgroup). For example, at school, one type of ingroup bias is feeling like your class is better than other classes. Ingroup bias is meant to strengthen our group and improve our self-esteem.
Three effects related to bias
Bias has three effects:
I will explain each in detail.
Dunning-Kruger effect
The Dunning-Kruger effect refers to the tendency to overestimate one’s own abilities. In particular, people with low ability tend to overestimate their own ability, while people with high ability underestimate their ability.
People with low abilities tend to overestimate their abilities because they lack the knowledge and experience to understand their own incompetence. On the other hand, people with high abilities tend to underestimate their own abilities because they feel that their knowledge and skills are taken for granted and are likely to misunderstand that others are at the same level.
halo effect
The halo effect is a psychological effect in which one’s attention is drawn to a single good point and the person or thing as a whole becomes positive. When you see a good-looking person, you may be able to see that person’s personality and abilities better.
The name comes from the fact that it has a good appearance, illuminating the entire area like a halo, making other parts of the room look better. For example, if a product’s packaging is beautiful, people will assume that the product itself is of high quality, which is one of the halo effects.
concorde effect
The Concorde effect is a tendency to keep going, feeling like it would be a waste to stop halfway through something once started. You can’t back out because you don’t want to waste the time and money you’ve already spent.
For example, even though you don’t go to the gym often, you feel like it’s a waste to pay the membership fee and monthly membership fee, so you continue to be a member because of the Concorde effect. The name of the Concorde effect comes from the supersonic passenger plane “Concorde” developed by France and Britain.
Although the airplane was a technical success, it ended up incurring a financial loss, but there is a well-known story in which the nation’s pride prevented its development from being stopped. By understanding the Concorde effect, you can prevent losses in business and investment situations that require calm judgment.
How to use bias in marketing
Once you understand bias, you can use it in your marketing. Examples of marketing methods that apply bias include:
I will explain each in detail.
Limited time
Limited time offer is a marketing method that takes advantage of the psychology of people who tend to value a product or service more highly and take action quickly when they feel that the opportunity to obtain it is limited.
For example, words like “special price only for today” or “limited quantity” can make your product more likely to sell by making you worry that the product will be gone soon. If you use limited time offers too often, you may weaken your bias and feel reassured that “it might be okay next time,” and you may not make a purchase. When using limited time offers, be sure to consider the frequency.
limited quantity
Limited quantity takes advantage of the bias that people find valuable and want things that are hard to obtain or limited. For example, if you advertise a product using phrases such as “Limited to the first 100 customers” or “While supplies last,” consumers may be concerned that the product may run out quickly and rush to purchase the product. I will.
On the other hand, if there are always a large number of “limited quantity” products, just like limited-time offers, consumers will become accustomed to the information and the effect will be diminished, so care must be taken. To take advantage of a “limited quantity” strategy, determine the appropriate frequency and quantity.
Attendees only
Attendance only helps encourage event attendance by offering benefits to people attending your event or conference. By offering limited edition items that are only available at events, we are exploiting the bias of people who want to get something unique and special.
For example, at
an exhibition
or trade show, you can offer special discounts or free samples to visitors, making them aware that if you don’t attend, you won’t get the discount or if you don’t attend, you won’t get the free samples. By making people think, you can increase the visitor rate. This creates a sense of urgency in consumers, believing that if they don’t act now, they will miss out on the opportunity, and encourage them to take action.
summary
In this article, we explained the meaning and overview of bias, its types and effects, and examples of its use in marketing. There are many different types of bias, each with different meanings and effects.
If you understand bias correctly, you can conduct effective marketing that taps into human psychology.
Please make use of this article for your marketing strategy.