Egocentric Bias

Egocentric Bias

Reflection Time

Well, Aren't we all fond of listening about "self (me, myself)" and don't we all enjoy being the center of attraction or attention always?

I am sure the answer to the above is an emphatic "YES". 

Each one of us, to some extent, is a bit of narcissist, whether we accept it or not, whether we like it or not and it's not going to take much time and effort to recall an instance/ few instances 

• when you felt your contribution in the collaborative activity was much more than anyone's else

• when you thought that your POV (Point of View) could withstand the test of time and was the only fool proof approach/ method

• when you felt that your feelings and behaviour was as apparent to everyone else as to you.

• when you felt obsessed with your opinion/ advice and couldn't fathom existence of any contrary opinion and advice.

plus numerous other instances when you felt/ thought that you were the cynosure of all eyes and that every discussion happening around was about "you".

The above pointers are a clear testimony of our inherent desire to feel "special" and this is exactly what makes up the bias known as "Egocentric Bias".

Definition and Background

Simply put, "Egocentric Bias" is the tendency to rely too heavily on one'e own perspective/ POV (point of view) when examining or remembering events in our life. In this bias, we tend to develop an inflated sense about ourself and suffer from a constant need to satisfy our own ego.

The term "Egocentric Bias" was coined in 1980 by Anthony Greenwald, a psychologist at Ohio State University. He described it as a "phenomenon in which people skew their beliefs so that what they recall from their memory or what they initially understood is different than what actually occured".

Indicators of  Egocentric Bias

Few of the key indicators are 

• when we start experiencing life through a "self-centered" filter and start assuming that every discussion happening around is about me and that people are paying as much attention to "me" as i am paying to "myself"

• when we start projecting our beliefs, desires, thoughts and emotions onto other people, especially those who are close to us

• when we start developing a "attention grabbing" or "credit grabbing" tendency where we don't leave any opportunity to exaggerate our contribution to something and start putting ourself in the front as the most "deserving" person

• when we start seeing ourself as target of other's action, which is not the reality though

Why/ How does Egocentric Bias occurs ?

Studies show that it's far easier for people to remember information is it has reference to them and that's precisely why we tend to recall information that has reference of  "me" or "myself". A case in point is "episodic memory" which we are able to recall with ease because of its autobiographical characteristic. 

Egocentric Bias occurs as a result of the reality that every individual has sole access to a vast amount of information about themselves which others are not aware of even and it is this vastness that impacts our perception and perspective (views and opinions) on various issues, situations and experiences. 

So, "EGO" sits pretty much at the center of the egocentric bias and plays a guiding role during memory access and recall.

Impact of Egocentric Bias

Egocentric bias influences the way we process and remember information and adversely impacts our personality in many ways, both personally and professionally. Whether its about demonstrating good leadership, collaboration or  coaching/ mentoring others, egocentric bias has a real impact on these. 

Some of the ways it impacts us are mentioned below:

• leads to "memory distortion", a neurological phenomenon of making events larger than life in our mind, in our bid to feed our ego.
• blurs the gap between reality and illusion
• creates "illusion of control" over events in our life
• hinders our ability to empathise 
• develops in us a tendency to undermine others' POV (point of view) or their contribution to the task 
• becomes difficult for them to develop a multi-perspective view to the situation which leads to poor decision making 
• mental health issues that may result from exaggeration or undermining

Overcoming/ Addressing Egocentric Bias

• More self-awareness - Regular SWOT analysis to help us gain insight into our weaknesses also, thereby establishing the fact that there's always a scope for improvement in some areas of our personality  

• Developing "Perspective-Taking", maybe using the tools like Six Thinking Hats, Devil's Advocate, which throw open multiple POVs to choose from through a more rational approach

• Emotional Intelligence - Another way to build more self-awareness and also awareness about others. This could help with becoming a better leader and a collaborator too

• Being able to identify the "blind spots"

• Focus on networking with others and getting involved in projects involving groups/ teams, with diverse expertise/ experience. This  may generate a tendency to work collaboratively in diversity and also generate memories involving others, and not just self.

• Practicing gratitude helps become grateful to things and people outside "me/ myself". Keeping a journal could be the easiest way to do so.

Well, the timing is always right to break this illusion of  (you/ me) being the center of the Universe and come to terms with reality !