Outgroup Homogeneity Bias
What is it?
Outgroup Homogeneity Bias is a bias that makes people believe that members of other groups are more similar to each other than they really are.
Outgroup homogeneity bias is a psychological tendency for people to perceive members of a group they don't belong to (the "outgroup") as being more similar to each other than they actually are. In other words, individuals often view their own group (the "ingroup") as diverse and unique while seeing the outgroup as a uniform collective. This bias can lead to stereotyping and misunderstandings about other groups.
Here are two simple examples to help you understand outgroup homogeneity bias:
Sports teams: Imagine you're a fan of a particular sports team, and you believe that your team's fans are diverse and come from various backgrounds. However, when you think about the fans of a rival team, you might perceive them as being all the same, sharing the same opinions, and having the same characteristics. This is an example of outgroup homogeneity bias.
Nationalities: Let's say you're from Country A, and you believe that people from your country have diverse cultures, languages, and customs. However, when you think about people from Country B, you might perceive them as having only one culture, language, and way of life, even though they may also be quite diverse. This tendency t ...