Signs of Different Types of Biases and How to Overcome Each of Them
These biases can unknowingly impact your thoughts and behaviors.
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Medically reviewed by Sabrina Romanoff, PsyD
Bias refers to a tendency or preference towards a certain group, idea, or concept that influences our judgments and decisions.
Our experiences, culture, social norms, and personal beliefs often shape these beliefs. The way we act on these biases can be either conscious or unconscious and can lead to prejudiced or discriminatory behaviors.
“Bias can play a significant role in day-to-day interactions and relationships, often influencing our thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors toward others,” says David Yadush, LPC, a licensed professional counselor at BetterHelp. “This can result in misinterpreting or overlooking facts and can change how we perceive people or events in our lives.”
Along with affecting our everyday interactions, being unaware of biases—or falling prey to them even when we know they exist—can hinder personal growth.
In this article, we’re outlining common types of biases, and discussing the signs of each type and ways to overcome them.
Related: Cultural Awareness—How to Be More Culturally Aware & Improve Your Relationships
Why It's Important to Assess Your Biases
In order to recognize and work through bias, it’s important for us to challenge our assumptions and the subconscious stereotypes we make on a daily basis. This can be done by seeking out diverse perspectives, enjoying new experiences, and advocating for equal opportunity and treatment for everyone.
Of course, it also helps to understand the types of biases we’re apt to fall prey to so we can recognize and correct them in real-time.
How to Work Through Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out information that reaffirms our existing beliefs. In doing so, we tend to ignore information that contradicts our beliefs, which can lead us toward untruths.
Signs of confirmation bias may include:
Seeking information that confirms our beliefs
Ignoring or dismissing information that contradicts our beliefs
Failing to consider alternative opinions
“This bias can be harmful as it may prevent individuals from considering alternative viewpoints and may lead to closed-mindedness,” warns Yadush.
How to Overcome Confirmation Bias
“To recognize and work through confirmation bias, individuals should actively seek out diverse perspectives and information, consider alternative viewpoints, and engage in critical thinking and self-reflection," says Yadush.
Attribution Bias
Attribution bias is a cognitive distortion where we view the behavior of others as impacted by internal motivation—such as morals and character—while considering your own behaviors as affected by external factors, such as circumstances and environment.
Signs of attribution bias may include:
Consistently blaming others for problems or failures
Being overly critical of others
Excusing our own mistakes without reflection
“Simply speaking, one tends to give themselves a break for their own mistakes or shortcomings as unavoidable but will blame others for similar mistakes or shortcomings as intentional,” explains Karri Francisco, LMFT, director of family programming at APN.
She says that this is intellectually dangerous because it leads to unfair judgments of others. It can also make it harder to learn from our own mistakes since this bias prevents us from taking responsibility for our actions.
How to Overcome Attribution Bias
Francisco says that practicing empathy and perspective-taking can help you move away from falling prey to attribution bias.
Conformity Bias
Conformity bias is when we simply agree—or conform—with the opinions and behaviors of others in a group setting even when it’s against our own personal beliefs or knowledge.
Signs of conformity bias may include:
Vocally agreeing with others even when you inwardly disagree
Not sharing your own thoughts and feelings out of fear of being “ousted” or judged in a group setting
Going along with a group that’s acting irresponsibly or cruelly when you know inwardly the behavior is wrong
Yadush says, “This is typically an unconscious process that we go through in an attempt to avoid social rejection or gain status. This bias can be harmful as it may prevent individuals from expressing their true thoughts and opinions and may lead to groupthink, where the desire for consensus overrides critical thinking.”
How to Overcome Conformity Bias
To recognize and work through conformity bias, focus on reflecting on your own beliefs and values. At the same time, you can engage in critical thinking and seek diverse perspectives and opinions from others.
If you’re in a leadership position, you can also reduce conformity bias by encouraging and rewarding diverse opinions.
Related: How to Overcome a Fear of Rejection
Beauty Bias
Beauty bias is either a subconscious or known propensity to treat conventionally beautiful people better or worse than those who aren’t as attractive.
Signs of beauty bias include:
You judge others on their appearance
You make assumptions about a conventionally attractive person’s capabilities
You treat others better or worse based on their appearance
The Halo Effect
The halo effect describes the phenomenon in which people assume that because a person has one favorable attribute, it must mean something favorable about them as a whole.
For example, if you think someone is attractive, you may assume that they are nicer or smarter than someone you deem less attractive.
For example, you might give favorable treatment to a beautiful person, or view them as more funny or interesting. This is referred to as The Halo Effect, and studies show that people have a tendency to do this without even thinking.
That said, you might also treat an unattractive person less favorably or make harsh judgments about them without getting to know them.
How to Overcome Beauty Bias
Francisco says, “The potential harm can lead to discrimination against those who do not present within conventional beauty standards. Are you making assumptions about a person's abilities or character based on their physical appearance, such as assuming that someone attractive is also intelligent or competent?”
She adds that in order to recognize and work through any bias, we must become aware of our own and challenge them as they occur.
One approach to challenging beauty bias is consciously focusing on a person's qualities and abilities when evaluating them.
Related: What Is the Halo Effect?
Gender Bias
Gender bias refers to the tendency we have to hold stereotypical or discriminatory attitudes towards people based solely on their gender. This not only affects our ability to socialize in meaningful ways, but it can also lead to unequal opportunities and treatment for others.
Signs of gender bias may include:
Making assumptions or judgments based on gender
Using gender-specific language
Treating individuals differently based on their gender
How to Overcome Gender Bias
According to Yadush, "To recognize and work through gender bias, individuals should challenge their assumptions and stereotypes and use gender-neutral language.”
Yadush adds that it’s also important to listen to and believe individuals about their experiences around gender bias and discrimination.
Ageism
Similarly, ageism is the tendency we have to make judgments or assumptions about another person simply because of their age.
This tends to negatively impact people who are either young or old, as we subconsciously hold stereotypes about their capabilities or the “known characteristics” of their generation.
Signs of ageism may include:
Judging an individual's ability or intelligence based on age
Not interacting with someone because they’re a different age
Being rude or dismissive of others due to their age
Ageism and Its Impact on Mental Health
Yadush says that ageism has been shown to have serious effects on the mental health, physical health, and overall quality of life in the older adult population. It can hinder their ability to socialize, find employment, or make meaningful friendships.
For young people, it can also impact their ability to be taken seriously in professional settings. This is also referred to as "youngism."
How to Overcome Ageism
“To help combat ageism, seek out mentorship from individuals of all ages and be willing to learn from those with different lived experiences,” Yadush suggests. “When you do recognize ageism in the workplace or community, speak out and be an advocate as others may not have the opportunity or support to do so.”
The Contrast Effect
The contrast effect tends to sneak up on us. It’s a cognitive bias where the comparison of two things influences your perception of both.
Other signs of the contrast effect include:
Comparing one person to another
Failing to focus on objective criteria when making decisions
Not considering the context of your evaluations
Karri Francisco, LMFT
[The contrast effect] can lead to inaccurate perceptions and judgments of individuals being evaluated in comparison to another.
How the Contrast Effect May Play Out in Everyday Life
Here are some examples of what the contrast effect may look like in the real world:
If you see someone casually dressed and standing next to someone looking unkempt, the casual attire may appear more professional in comparison. This might not seem important, but it demonstrates an important effect.
In another example, if someone is interviewed for a job immediately after a particularly impressive candidate, they may be judged more harshly than they would have been if someone had interviewed them alone. This creates space for perceptions to be distorted.
“The contrast effect highlights how our perceptions are not solely based on objective measurements but can be influenced by the context in which we experience them,” explains Francisco. “This can lead to inaccurate perceptions and judgments of individuals being evaluated in comparison to another.”
How to Overcome the Contrast Effect
When making decisions, try to be as objective as possible. If you do have to make any comparisons, it can help to take breaks between comparisons and evaluations in order to clear your mind of influences, and to focus on objective criteria rather than subjective impressions.
Related: How People Develop Prejudices
Summary
We're all prone to cognitive distortions. Sometimes we're on the receiving end, while other times we're the ones making quick judgments. Reflecting on where these biases may exist in your daily life is the first step in understanding and overcoming them.
Read Next: How to Be Less Judgmental
