Affinity Bias: The Comfort And Curse Of Conformity

Our world is unstable and unpredictable, which makes some people, especially those who are nervous and hyper-controlling, seek stability and security in something that can hold them when their ship starts to sink, caught in the chaos of global fishing nets.

They find this in a lifeboat called “Affinity Bias,” which is the preference for what is eternal, what is almost perfect. Someone like you, but not exactly you. Someone like us, someone who shares the same interests, who also likes a hamburger without ketchup or knows ancient Greek. Indeed, from a socio-psychological perspective, we tend to like those who are similar to us because this confirms our values and boosts our self-esteem. 

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Mere-Exposure Effect

How the mere exposure effect influences your life.

The mere-exposure effect is a tendency to prefer the more familiar to you over something new and unknown.

The more often you see something, the more positively you perceive it. At the same time, the first contact with something new must make either a neutral or a positive impression on you. These can be the people you meet every day, the music you listen to, or well-known brands whose numerous advertisements are profoundly imprinted in your subconscious.

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