Do you think irrationality spreads faster than germs?
Humans are wired to imitate, whether yawning or feeling fearful, in a crowded room.
We often catch emotions just like we catch colds without even realizing it.
And you are constantly driven to check news updates and social media for the latest information or any other major incidents. In that case, it is the contagion bias at play.
Contagion bias has the potential to affect one’s life significantly. Understanding this bias helps know who is susceptible to it and how to safeguard oneself against its consequences.
Understanding “Contagion Bias”
Contagion bias is the tendency to associate an individual or object with negative qualities or to believe that something bad has rubbed off on it just because of its perceived association with a negative event.
In a scenario where you are down with a stomach bug, your first instinct is to blame that sad-looking sandwich you had for lunch at the cafeteria. So, you mention it to your colleagues, and suddenly everyone’s boycotting the cafeteria food.
But wait a minute – did you have evidence that the cafeteria was the culprit? Maybe you had a questionable breakfast or dinner at home or picked up an unwanted bug from another public place.
By spreading unfounded accusations, you could be causing unnecessary panic and financial loss for the cafeteria. Plus, if word gets out to the public, the cafeteria could face a serious blow to its reputation that may be hard to recover from. So next time you feel ill, take a step back and consider all the possible sources before jumping to conclusions and potentially damaging someone else’s livelihood.
Contagion bias is connected to both confirmation and hindsight biases. Practicing critical thinking and maintaining an open mind is important to combat it effectively. This involves avoiding the influence of past experiences on your reactions and being receptive to new evidence that may challenge your current perspective.
The Exploited And The Exploiters
Victims of contagion bias are typically those who have been affected or have some association with a negative event, regardless of their actual involvement in said event. This could be due to their religion, race, gender, or any other trait they may possess.
Individuals who employ contagion bias often aim to promote a specific storyline or objective, insinuating that the concerned individuals or groups are accountable for the problem. For instance, politicians might single out entire communities for blame. At the same time, corporations may try to undermine their rivals by linking them with wrongdoing.
Day To Day Contagion Bias
- A politician blames an entire religious or racial group for a crime even though only a few individuals were involved.
- An individual avoids eating at a chain of restaurants due to one bad experience at a single location.
- A company was attributing the failures of its product to its competitors to push its version.
- Any attempt to discredit someone by associating them with another person or entity that has done something wrong, regardless of their involvement.
- Refusing to use a certain service because some people have had negative experiences with it, even though it is still potential for others to benefit from it.
Recognizing When You’re Slipping Into The Contagion Bias Trap
Identifying when one is falling into the trap of Contagion Bias requires a bit of introspection. When presented with an issue or problem, ask yourself these questions:
- Is my decision based on facts and logic or assumptions and emotions?
- Am I generalizing a single instance to an entire category?
- Are there other factors I am ignoring or not considering before forming my opinion?
- Does this decision think all of the individuals involved, or am I dismissing someone without giving them a fair hearing?
- Do evidence and research back this view up, or is it simply speculation?
Overcoming the Contagion Bias Trap
- Educate yourself on the dangers of cognitive biases and how they can impact your decisions.
- It is recommended to examine your assumptions before reaching a decision, particularly in regard to the actions or words of others.
- It is essential to take a detached viewpoint and analyze a situation based on facts rather than subjective opinions or actions of others.
- Refrain from making decisions simply because something is popular or has become trendy — do your research instead.
- Surround yourself with people who think independently and don’t just follow trends for the sake of it.
- Seek out information from multiple sources, including those that offer an alternative perspective, to better understand different points of view before acting on something you think could be worthwhile.
- Consider the consequences of your decisions carefully — does it really make sense to do something simply because everyone else is?
Final Thoughts
The evident existence of racism and discrimination in our modern society is a clear manifestation of the contagion bias. It is the inclination to believe that unfavorable attributes or actions linked to a specific group can easily infect and influence other groups.
The tendency to believe that unfavorable characteristics or behavior associated with a particular group can spread to other groups is a common manifestation of contagion bias.
This refers to the inclination to presume that negative attributes or actions attributed to a specific group are infectious and can significantly impact other groups.
Essentially, this means that people may associate a certain character with a group of people and then assume that anyone who is related to that group must also possess that characteristic.
In the case of racism, people may assume that someone of different skin color or ethnicity is automatically “inferior” or “dangerous” simply because they belong to that group. But as we know, this line of thinking is not only false but harmful, as it perpetuates harmful stereotypes and reinforces systemic inequalities.
Being rational helps you look at facts and make decisions based on evidence while being hysterical just lets your emotions control your actions and makes you totally illogical. So, does knowing about the contagion bias make you tolerable and logical in approach? Did you like the read? Do subscribe to our newsletter for more such articles
Reference
The above article is based on the book Thinking Clearly; this article is here to help us learn and understand how our minds can be tricked by something called cognitive biases.