What Is Optimism Bias’s Connection To Marketing?
We have all come across situations when people choose to only see on the positive aspect of every situation. For, eg. smokers believe that they are less likely to be a victim of lung cancer than other smokers, and bungee jumpers believe that they are less likely to get injured than other jumpers. These are the sheer examples of what is optimism bias. Let us explain this science better.
What Is Optimism Bias?
Optimism bias is the state of overestimating the positive and underestimating the negative, thinking that nothing wrong can take place for them—the reason why is still unknown. The above example is relatable to many people who believed that Corona will not touch them- but it did. This is also known as unrealistic optimism and comparative optimism. This is caused by 4 leading factors.
- Cognitive mechanisms
- Their conclusion
- What they know about themselves versus what they are to others
- The mood
What Is Optimism Bias And Decision Making Connection?
Optimism bias is the psychological factor that overestimates the individual about their success, their belief of a longer relationship, finding a shortcut to success, assuming that the promotion is in their hands, etc. This is also a boon to some extent because a person is less likely to feel discouraged at the time of hardship. There is a ray of hope to get up and keep going again.
What Is Optimism Bias’s Role In Business Messaging And Promotion?
The foremost question that people ask is what is optimism bias? Then the next arising question is how does it ever affect a messaging strategy? Well here is how.
Marketers get to use heuristics that can help develop a successful influence on the consumers. Optimism bias plays a crucial role in influencing consumers about the advantages of any product and how it can be a successful option for them too. In this, marketers also have to play safe by focusing more on the positive aspects and desires rather than triggering any adverse situation.
Is There Anything As Relatable As What Is Optimism Bias?
Yes, there are many other heuristics that play as fair as what is optimism bias. These are some of the other heuristics to know about.
Affect Heuristic
This is based on what is affecting a person in the current moment. The person tends to take a hasty decision and judge immediately as good or bad. This is based on immediate feelings and less of logic.
Diffusion of Responsibility
This is somewhat similar to what is optimism bias. In this, the person tends to diffuse responsibilities and finds oneself less responsible for anything that is happening. The person thinks that either the other person will be responsible or someone has already taken action.
Egocentric Bias
This is about overestimating the power of oneself. In this, the person finds others to be responsible for all the actions, making judgments on the same. However, the person will still find his position as overweighting others. This generally happens on the group level.
Negativity Bias
This is the opposite to what is optimism bias. In this, the negative aspects overweight the positive ones. These negative aspects shape the person’s judgments and is somehow leads to decision making in a similar direction. When there is a lot of information in the negative side, then it begins to stick more evidently.
Opportunity Cost Neglect
In this, the value of any opportunity is measured by the cost incurred from the alternative. The best options are picked from the “cost” of choice, and on the basis of this, the second alternative is also judged.
Positive Outcome Bias
In this, the person refuses to accept any negative aspects and only focuses on the positive outcomes. This is entirely similar to what is optimism bias where the person takes decisions on the basis of past experience and how it will affect future decisions. The person is much confident that the decision will lead to positive outcomes in the near future. They fail to accept the reality of the situation.
With this, there are many other heuristics that match the criterion of what is optimism bias. However, optimism bias is one of the biggest perks for the marketers because they get to play with the optimism and positive side of the target market. This market can be targeted on point with the involvement of accurate messaging. Messaging that connects with the consumers is way more powerful than any other form of advertisement. Get these crafted from Neuristics to curate technically, scientifically, and emotionally advanced messages to influence the consumers. Try it to find out how to reach out to the masses with the help of messages.
