017Bias
Familiarity Bias
People have a tendency to prefer (i.e., choose) products, services and options that feel familiar to them.
Why it matters
People often prefer what is familiar. They may even actively avoid considering new options.
This is also occasionally called the Mere Exposure Effect.
To utilise this bias, it's helpful to understand why it works.
In short, it helps humans to make quick judgements:
1. It reduces uncertainty
2. It's quicker to interpret
Imagine that you're walking through the serengeti, and you turn to see this:
Your life depends on your ability to process this, and make a snap judgement about what you should do next.
You don't want to waste valuable seconds deciding if it's a lion, a rarer breed of cat or a man in a lion suit. You have a bias towards what you're familiar with (a lion), and so you run.
This bias was necessary for our survival, and our brains have been trained to gravitate towards the familiar .
What to inspect
- Check whether the experience reflects this: This is also occasionally called the Mere Exposure Effect.
- Map each visible element to how it supports or undermines: People have a tendency to prefer (i.e., choose) products, services and options that feel familiar to them.
- Walk the primary task once with time pressure; note where attention drops.
- Ask a colleague unfamiliar with the product to paraphrase the screen in one sentence.
Common anti-patterns
- Assuming users consciously notice every place where "People have a tendency to prefer (i.e., choose) products, services and options that feel familiar to them" could apply.
- Dense copy and parallel actions that increase mental effort unrelated to the user’s goal.
- Ignoring downstream effects on conversion rates when shipping this pattern.
Critique prompts
- This is also occasionally called the Mere Exposure Effect.
- Where on this screen would "Familiarity Bias" show up as friction or misunderstanding?
- What would a first-time user misunderstand here in under five seconds?