What is Liking Bias?

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Liking bias means that what you look like and what you wear to a job interview is probably more important than your actual qualifications for the job.

Most of us don’t want to believe that. We’ll kick and scream and rally against the machine, but the fact remains: we like people who look good.

What is liking bias?

Liking bias is the idea that we prefer to say “yes” to people that we know and like. This may seem obvious at first, but there are important consequences. Sales reps, brands, and businesses are taking advantage of this cognitive bias to sell you things.

Robert B. Cialdini in his textbook, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, explores the liking bias with an example from the1950’s and 60s: Earl Tupper and his plastic storage containers, Tupperware.

Originally, Tupperware was only sold through department stores and sales catalogs, until Tupper hired Brownie Wise to lead his sales force.

Wise transformed the buying experienced into a fun, energetic in-home Tupperware party, where housewives were incentivized with a small fee to host their sisters, mothers, daughters, and friends to test the storage containers and purchase if inclined.

This tactic is effective because it leverages the liking bias.

Instead of a sales rep showing up at your door for a cold sales pitch, you’re invited to the party of a good friend or family member. You’re far more inclined to say yes to this party than to a stranger at your door.

Further, once you’re at the party and you’re introduced to the product, reciprocation tendency, social proof, and the liking bias all work together to get you to buy some Tupperware.

First, you feel inclined to repay the host in some way for the lovely party she’s thrown. Buying some Tupperware is the most obvious reciprocation of the host’s generosity.

Secondly, you like or love the host, as it’s a friend or family member, and so you are far more inclined to reciprocate their hospitality.

Finally, once the first person steps up to buy some Tupperware, social proof will propel the rest of the group forward to purchase some, including you.

These are powerful mental influences. So powerful that Tupperware parties still exist in the U.S. today.

But it’s not just people we know that can be used against us to sell us products. Many other factors contribute to the liking bias, as outlined by Cialdini.

We like physically attractive people.

When someone is physically attractive, we are more likely to assume they are also talented, kind, honest, and intelligent.

Cialdini calls this the “halo effect,” where one positive attribute (their good looks) dominates the way we see that person.

In general, our minds equate good looking with good, and we don’t even know we’re doing it.

We like people who share our interests and lifestyle.

I am always excited to meet another hockey fan, and I am ecstatic to meet another Edmonton Oilers fan.

It would be foolish for sales reps to NOT try and use this interest to take my money. It’s just human nature that we tend to like people who like the things we like, and live the way we live.

We even like people more if they dress like us. So, if you are looking to nab that job promotion, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start dressing like your boss. It’s a competitive world - every edge counts.

We like people who give us compliments.

As a rule, we are suckers for people who like us. As long as the flattery isn’t blatantly insincere, the impact of someone complimenting us can create a return liking and willing compliance.

The flattery can even be false (no, your jacket is not “svelte”) and we will still believe it.

We like people more if they are familiar to us.

Why are referrals so powerful in the world of business? Because they create a familiarity between two strangers.

Familiarity plays a role in all sorts of decisions. We don’t realize that our attitude towards a person, place, or idea is influenced by how many times we’ve been exposed to it previously.

Commitment and consistency bias also works to keep us going back to the things we know and like - familiar things.

We like people more if we are cooperating towards a common goal.

If you want to get two people to like each other, put them on the same team and give them a mutual goal. If they achieve their goal, you can almost guarantee they now like each other more than when they started.

This is why a sales rep will tell you that he or she is going to go to their boss and try and get that great deal approved for you. The rep is uniting themselves with you, against the boss, towards a common goal.

Cialdini also highlights the “Good Cop / Bad Cop” routine’s use of this cooperating tactic to try and get a confession out of a suspect.

The bad cop is intimidating, mean, and wants nothing more than to throw the suspect in jail for as long as possible.

The good cop, though, is on the suspect’s side. He’s helpful, compassionate, and eager to get the suspect the best deal he can if only the suspect will confess to the crime. This technique positions the good cop as an ally, working together with the suspect to get the best possible outcome. Often, if there’s a confession to be had, the good cop can coax it out.

How can you protect yourself from liking bias?

First, you’ve got to spot these liking techniques at play.

Cialdini warns that if you feel as though you’ve come to like someone too strongly and too quickly, this is probably a sign that he or she is using compliance techniques on you to manufacture this liking tendency.

That doesn’t mean that this person isn’t genuinely likable. You may even want to purchase whatever he or she is selling. But Cialdini recommends you do a little mental trick to ensure you don’t get taken advantage of. Mentally separate the product you’re buying or the thing that person wants from us, from the person you are buying it from.

This is important because association bias and liking bias cause us to see both the product we are buying and the person we like in the same light.

But if you can separate them in your mind, you’ll have a more objective look at the deal you’re getting for the product and whether it’s a good one.

Like all cognitive biases, liking bias exists because it aids in survival and the healthy functioning of our society. But there are people who will use it against you to get what they want.

Now you can spot their techniques and protect yourself.

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Cialdini PhD, Robert B.. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials). HarperCollins e-books. Kindle Edition.

Featured photo by Ruthson Zimmerman on Unsplash