What is Perception Bias – Types & Examples
Published by at July 11th, 2023 , Revised On August 27, 2024
Perception bias is all around us, if we look closely at our actions and surroundings, we are under the influence of this cognitive factor. From building perceptions about colleagues or friends to sharing views about people or things, we are under the spell of perception bias.
It drives us to perceive situations about different things on the basis of our preconceived notions and pre-existing beliefs.
It influences us in every way, from perceiving about a certain race, religion, ethnicity, gender, author, artist, and researcher to choosing plays to watch. Before moving on, let’s understand how it works and how can you begin to notice perception bias.
Perception Bias Definition
Perception bias is the act of perceiving ourselves and things around us with a subjective approach that can lead us to make biased judgements about a certain thing. It is a cognitive process that is influenced by our assumptions and experiences.
For example, it can cause us to unfairly label a person or a social class as immoral or defiant towards societal values based on our preconceived notions.
What is Perception Bias?
It is a kind of cognitive bias that drives people to perceive about themselves or things around them in a subjective manner. It occurs when our perception about any person, group, or thing is formed on the basis of our pre-existing beliefs, ideas, and preconceived notions, which leads to unfair or biased decision-making.
How Can You Begin to Notice Perception Bias?
Our perception is driven by selective attention bias towards people, things, or products. It is a process through which human builds a perception of different things by screening, selecting, organising, and interpreting impulses like words, concepts, objects, and humans to assign them a meaning based on objective information.
Following are some prominent causes of perception bias that occur in our lives most of the time.
Filtering Information
Our mind unconsciously filters out the information that does not resonate with our pre-existing beliefs or ideas because of the confirmation bias at work. It does not want to deal with new things or information, that’s why we are restricted to biased information that helps us to build perceptions about things based on objective approach.
For example, it has been observed that people who believe that black people are generally violent or mischievous believe so only because their perception is built upon their preconceived notions from group talks and surroundings. They have not researched this fact by themselves, and if they try to do so, their brain will most likely apply the information filter so that they can’t reach the fact.
Conformity Bias
Another reason behind perception building is conformity bias which makes people change their opinion about humans or different things to match the views of a larger group. The urge to fit in a large pool is the major cause of perception bias as it ruins our own better judgment mostly.
For example, if a person holds negative views about a political party after knowing their reality, he will most likely change his opinion to feel the same pace as others to feel connected with a large chunk of people by overlooking his right views and following the biased perception of others.
Societal Value and Stereotypes
Our societal values and established stereotypes often lead us to build false perceptions about an ethnic group or things. We usually seek to compare things with our societal values to decide how they would be treated.
For example, it is a common stereotype that men are usually stronger and more ambitious than women. Most men believe in this stereotype even after observing events or acts in which women are proven to be stronger and more ambitious than men.
However, perception bias causes people to neglect unbiased information and keep believing in preconceived information or beliefs.
That’s how stereotypes and societal values lead humans toward wrong perceptions or ideas about people or other things.
Motivational Factors
Motivational factors like our desires, interests, hopes, and attachments towards beliefs or ideas often cause us to practice perception bias in our actions. It happens because we naturally prefer to support information or ideas that support our preexisting beliefs, ideas, preconceived notions, or interests and unconsciously block out contrary pieces of information.
For example, if a person believes that a disease like COVID-19 can’t spread through human contact, he will not bother with the information proving his belief wrong. On the other hand, he prefers to read or share information that is not verifiable but relative to his belief because of the motivational factors discussed above at work.
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What are the Different Types of Perception Bias?
There are three main types of perception bias as discussed below.
Visual Perception Bias
Biases that may exist in our visual perception of the outside environment are called visual perception biases. It includes optical illusions, in which our perception of objects or patterns is twisted, and subjective biases in judging colours, forms, or sizes.
Example of Visual Perception Bias
An example of visual perception bias is the Müller-Lyer illusion. This illusion consists of two lines with arrow-like markings at the ends, one with inward arrows and the other with outward arrows.
Even though the two lines are actually the same length, our visual perception is biased, and we tend to perceive the line with outward arrows as longer than the one with inward arrows.
Self-Perception Bias
Biases that affect how we view ourselves are referred to as self-perception biases. Self-evaluation, self-image, and self-awareness biases are examples of this.
For instance, people may have the tendency to overestimate their skills or credit internal variables with success and external factors with failure.
Example Self-Perception Bias
One example of self-perception bias is the “better-than-average effect.” This bias refers to the tendency for individuals to perceive themselves as above average in various domains, such as intelligence, driving skills, or work performance.
Despite the statistical impossibility of everyone being above average, this bias highlights our inclination to see ourselves in a more positive light.
Social Perception Bias
Biases that influence how we view and understand other individuals are social perception biases. It includes prejudices like stereotyping when we judge people based on their membership in a particular group.
Perception Bias Examples
Following are some examples of perception bias related to our day life activities.
Example of Social Perception Bias
Suppose there is a job interview where two candidates, Josephine and Tim, are being evaluated. The interviewer holds a stereotype that women are less competent in technical fields compared to men.
As a result, during the interview, the interviewer may unconsciously interpret Joseohine’s responses as less knowledgeable or less capable, even if she provides well-reasoned answers. Conversely, the interviewer may overlook or discount any potential weaknesses in Tim’s responses due to the assumption that men are more competent in technical roles.
Example of Perception Bias in Stereotyping in Social Interactions
Someone might hold a stereotype that people from a certain ethnic group are generally unfriendly. When they encounter an individual from that group who behaves in a neutral or reserved manner, they may interpret it as confirmation of their stereotype, disregarding the possibility that the person’s behaviour may be influenced by factors unrelated to their ethnicity.
Example of Perception Bias in Hiring Decisions
Perception bias can also influence hiring decisions. A hiring manager might have a preconceived notion that candidates who graduate from prestigious universities are more competent.
Consequently, the hiring manager may focus more on the qualifications and achievements of applicants from those universities while undervaluing the skills and experiences of candidates from less prestigious institutions.
Example of Perception Bias in In-Group Favouritism
In-group favouritism is a bias where individuals tend to perceive and treat members of their own group more positively than those from outside the group. For example, a person who belongs to a specific sports team might view the actions of their team’s players more leniently than similar actions by players from opposing teams.
Example of Perception Bias in Beauty Standards
Beauty bias is a perception bias where individuals tend to perceive physically attractive people more positively and attribute positive qualities to them. In various contexts, such as hiring, social
interactions, or even criminal justice, attractive individuals may be perceived as more trustworthy, competent, or truthful, irrespective of their abilities or character.
Frequently Asked Questions
Perception bias is the systematic errors or distortions in which people see and interpret information based on their preconceived conceptions, stereotypes, or cognitive filters.
There are three different types of perception biases:
- Visual perception bias
- Self-Perception Bias
- Social Perception Bias
Beauty bias is a perception bias where individuals tend to perceive physically attractive people more positively and attribute positive qualities to them.
It is a cognitive bias in which people favour information supporting their opinions, expectations, or attitudes.
