Projection bias refers to the tendency for people to assume that others think, feel, or behave similarly to themselves. This bias can play a significant role in marketing, sales, branding, design, and advertising. By understanding and leveraging projection bias, creators can craft more effective campaigns and drive better results.
1. Speaking Their Language
Use this technique in advertising by using language and imagery that resonates with your target audience.
Example: An advertisement targeting young adults that uses slang and pop culture references to appeal to that demographic.
How to use: Conduct market research to understand the language and imagery that resonates with your target audience, and use that information in your ad campaigns.
2. The Mirror Effect
This is the idea that people are more likely to be persuaded by things that they see as similar to themselves.
Example: A clothing brand creates a marketing campaign featuring models who closely resemble their target audience.
How to use: Use images and language that reflect the characteristics, values, and lifestyles of your target audience.
3. The Reciprocity Principle
This is the idea that people are more likely to do something for someone who has done something for them. By providing value or a freebie to the customer, a creator can increase the chances of them returning the favor in the form of a purchase or positive review.
Example: A software company offers a free trial of its product, with the goal of converting trial users into paying customers.
How to use: Provide value to the customer in the form of a free trial or a complimentary consultation.
4. Creating a sense of Understanding
Use this technique by creating ads or campaigns that demonstrate that you understand the audience’s needs, wants, or pain points. This can help to increase their trust and engagement with your brand or product.
Example: A healthcare company creating a campaign that demonstrates its understanding of the struggles and challenges faced by patients with a specific condition.
How to use: Create ads or campaigns that demonstrate that you understand the audience’s needs, wants, or pain points to increase their trust and engagement with your brand or product.
5. Creating a sense of Empathy
Use this technique by creating ads or campaigns that demonstrate empathy towards the audience’s situation. This can help to increase their trust and engagement with your brand or product.
Example: A financial services company creating a campaign that demonstrates empathy towards the financial struggles faced by many families during the time of economic crisis.
How to use: Create ads or campaigns that demonstrate empathy towards the audience’s situation to increase their trust and engagement with your brand or product.
6. Creating a sense of Community
Use this technique by creating ads or campaigns that show how your product or service can help the audience to connect with other like-minded people and build a sense of community.
Example: A social media app organizing events or webinars that bring people together to discuss topics relevant to their interest, providing a platform for them to connect and build a sense of community.
How to use: Create ads or campaigns that show how your product or service can help the audience to connect with other like-minded people and build a sense of community.
7. Creating a sense of Familiarity
Use this technique by incorporating elements of the audience’s daily life into your branding or advertising. This will create a sense of familiarity and make them feel more at ease with your brand or product.
Example: A restaurant using imagery of a home-cooked meal in their advertisements to appeal to customers looking for a familiar and comforting dining experience.
How to use: Incorporate elements of the audience’s daily life, such as common objects, places, or activities, into your branding or advertising to create a sense of familiarity.
Other cognitive biases that are similar to projection bias include
Illusory superiority: the tendency to overestimate one’s abilities and performance relative to others.
Fundamental attribution error: the tendency to attribute other people’s behavior to their personality or character, while attributing one’s own behavior to external factors.
False consensus effect: the tendency to overestimate the degree to which others think, feel, or behave similarly to oneself.
Citations
“Projection Bias in Perception of Others’ Behavior” by Ziva Kunda, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, (1990) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/002210319090062X“Projection Bias in Predicting the Behavior of Others” by David Gal and Derek Rucker, Psychological Science, (2007) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01924.x
“Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises” by Raymond S. Nickerson, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, (1998) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065260108602056
“Confirmation Bias: An Overview” by David Hardman and Mark Hollin, The Clinical Psychologist, (2015) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cp.12077
“Self-Serving Bias in the Attribution of Causes of Success and Failure” by Edward E. Jones and Keith E. Davis, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, (1965) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022103165900644
“The Self-Serving Bias in Social Perception and Interaction” by David Dunning and Justin Kruger, Psychological Bulletin, (1999) https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-05328-005
“The Halo Effect: An Experimental Study of Confidence in Personality Judgments” by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, (1968) https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1968-06102-001
“The Halo Effect in Social Perception: An Attributional Perspective” by David Funder, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (1991) https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1991-98434-007
