Cognitive Bias: Similarity Bias

Principal Category: Cognitive Biases

Author:
•  Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. – Anthropologist, Scientist, Director of the Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc.

Similarity bias leads individuals to favor those who are similar to themselves in characteristics and beliefs, promoting understanding and emotional comfort but limiting exposure to diverse perspectives. Scammers exploit this bias in relationship scams by fabricating similarities to build trust and manipulate victims.

By presenting common interests and values, scammers create a sense of familiarity, making victims more likely to trust and support them, often overlooking red flags. This manipulation can result in significant financial and emotional harm.

The Cognitive Bias Similarity Bias: A General Overview and Impact of it during Relationship Scams and on Scam Victims

What is Similarity Bias?

Similarity bias is a cognitive bias that causes individuals to favor people who are similar to themselves. This bias manifests in various aspects of life, including personal relationships, workplace dynamics, and decision-making processes. People tend to feel more comfortable and connected with others who share their characteristics, backgrounds, and beliefs. This bias operates on the principle that similarity promotes understanding, predictability, and emotional comfort.

How Similarity Bias Works

• Cognitive Ease: People find it easier to relate to and communicate with those who are similar to them. This ease reduces cognitive load and enhances the predictability of interactions.
• Emotional Comfort: Similarity provides a sense of validation and agreement, reducing the likelihood of conflict and increasing feelings of acceptance and belonging.
• Social Identity: According to social identity theory, individuals derive part of their self-concept from their group memberships. Similarity strengthens group cohesion and reinforces positive self-identity.
• Predictability: Familiarity and similarity make behaviors and attitudes more predictable, providing a sense of control and security in social interactions.

Impact on Personal and Professional Relationships

• Personal Relationships: People are more likely to form friendships and romantic relationships with those who share similar interests, values, and backgrounds. This can limit exposure to diverse perspectives but also fosters strong, cohesive bonds.
• Professional Relationships: In workplaces, similarity bias can influence hiring decisions, team formations, and promotions. While it can create harmonious teams, it can also stifle diversity and innovation by favoring homogeneity.

Similarity Bias in Relationship Scams – Exploitation by Scammers

Similarity bias plays a crucial role in the success of relationship scams. Scammers exploit this bias to gain the trust and manipulate their victims effectively.

Creating a Sense of Similarity:

• Profile Fabrication: Scammers often create fake profiles or stories that mirror the victim’s interests, hobbies, and values. This fabricated similarity makes the scammer appear trustworthy and relatable.
• Common Experiences: Scammers might claim to have shared experiences, such as growing up in the same town, attending the same school, or working in the same industry, to build an immediate connection.

Emotional Manipulation:

• Trust and Bonding: By appearing similar, scammers create an emotional bond, making the victim more likely to overlook inconsistencies and red flags.
• Empathy and Support: Scammers often present themselves as facing situations that evoke empathy, knowing that the emotional connection will prompt the victim to offer help and support.

Stages of Exploitation:

• Grooming Phase: Scammers initiate contact and build rapport by emphasizing shared interests and commonalities, making the victim feel understood and connected.
• Manipulation Phase: They deepen the relationship through emotional engagement, sharing personal stories, and eliciting the victim’s own experiences to strengthen the bond.
• Control Phase: Once trust is firmly established, scammers exploit it by requesting financial assistance or other favors, framing these requests as urgent needs that play on the victim’s loyalty and emotional investment.

Similarity Bias in Relationship Scams – Impact on Scam Victims

• Enhanced Trust: Victims are more likely to trust someone who appears similar to them, making them susceptible to manipulation and deceit.
• Emotional Vulnerability: The emotional bonds formed through perceived similarity make it difficult for victims to recognize the scam and detach themselves from the scammer.
• Isolation: Scammers may isolate victims from their support networks by deepening dependency and creating a sense of exclusivity in the relationship, making it harder for the victim to seek outside advice or recognize the scam.
• Financial and Psychological Harm: The trust and emotional connection exploited by scammers can lead to significant financial losses and long-term psychological impacts, including mistrust in future relationships and emotional trauma.

Similarity Bias: Summary

Similarity bias is a cognitive tendency that leads individuals to favor those who are similar to themselves in terms of characteristics, backgrounds, and beliefs. This bias operates on the principle that similarity promotes understanding, predictability, and emotional comfort, making interactions with similar others easier and more pleasant. People naturally gravitate towards those who share their interests, values, and experiences, resulting in a preference for homogeneous social and professional groups. While this can create strong, cohesive bonds, it also limits exposure to diverse perspectives and can perpetuate groupthink.

In the context of relationship scams, similarity bias is exploited by scammers who fabricate similarities to build trust and manipulate their victims. By presenting themselves as having common interests, backgrounds, and values, scammers create a sense of familiarity and emotional connection, making victims more likely to trust and support them. This manipulation can lead to significant financial and emotional harm for the victims, who may overlook red flags due to the perceived similarity and emotional bond. Understanding similarity bias and its role in such scams is crucial for recognizing and preventing exploitation, as well as for fostering more inclusive and diverse relationships in all areas of life.

Important Information for New Scam Victims

• See more at www.ScamVictimsSupport.org – a SCARS Website for New Scam Victims

Statement About Victim Blaming

Some of our articles discuss various aspects of victims. This is both about better understanding victims (the science of victimology) and their behaviors and psychology. This helps us to educate victims/survivors about why these crimes happened and to not blame themselves, better develop recovery programs, and to help victims avoid scams in the future. At times this may sound like blaming the victim, but it does not blame scam victims, we are simply explaining the hows and whys of the experience victims have.

These articles, about the Psychology of Scams or Victim Psychology – meaning that all humans have psychological or cognitive characteristics in common that can either be exploited or work against us – help us all to understand the unique challenges victims face before, during, and after scams, fraud, or cybercrimes. These sometimes talk about some of the vulnerabilities the scammers exploit. Victims rarely have control of them or are even aware of them, until something like a scam happens and then they can learn how their mind works and how to overcome these mechanisms.

Articles like these help victims and others understand these processes and how to help prevent them from being exploited again or to help them recover more easily by understanding their post-scam behaviors. Learn more about the Psychology of Scams at www.ScamPsychology.org

SCARS Resources:

♦ Enroll in SCARS Scam Survivor’s School now at www.SCARSeducation.org

♦ To report criminals visit reporting.AgainstScams.org – we will NEVER give your data to money recovery companies like some do!

♦ If you are a victim of scams go to ScamVictimsSupport.org for real knowledge and help

♦ Come and join our kinder, safer, no-hate, anti-scam education and discussion group: support.AgainstScams.org

♦ Sign up for our free support & recovery help by support.AgainstScams.org

♦ Join our WhatsApp Chat Group at: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BPDSYlkdHBbDBg8gfTGb02

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♦ Follow us and find our podcasts, webinars, and helpful videos on YouTube at: www.youtube.com/@RomancescamsNowcom

♦ See SCARS Institute Scam Victim Self-Help Books at shop.AgainstScams.org

♦ Learn about the Psychology of Scams at www.ScamPsychology.org

♦ Dig deeper into the reality of scams, fraud, and cybercrime at www.ScamsNOW.com and www.RomanceScamsNOW.com

♦ Become a SCARS Institute Member – Help Us Help Others – learn more at membership.AgainstScams.org

♦ See more scammer photos on ScammerPhotos.com

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Psychology Disclaimer:

All articles about psychology, neurology, and the human brain on this website are for information & education only

The information provided in these articles is intended for educational and self-help purposes only and should not be construed as a substitute for professional therapy or counseling.

While any self-help techniques outlined herein may be beneficial for scam victims seeking to recover from their experience and move towards recovery, it is important to consult with a qualified mental health professional before initiating any course of action. Each individual’s experience and needs are unique, and what works for one person may not be suitable for another.

Additionally, any approach may not be appropriate for individuals with certain pre-existing mental health conditions or trauma histories. It is advisable to seek guidance from a licensed therapist or counselor who can provide personalized support, guidance, and treatment tailored to your specific needs.

If you are experiencing significant distress or emotional difficulties related to a scam or other traumatic event, please consult your doctor or mental health provider for appropriate care and support.

Also, please read our SCARS Institute Statement About Professional Care for Scam Victims – here

If you are in crisis, feeling desperate, or in despair please call 988 or your local crisis hotline.

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