Reception Bias in Family, Schools, Corporations, Society and the International Landscape

RECEPTION BIAS: FAMILY LEVEL

Mom and Dad said yes. Why should I entertain Tauji’s disapproval?

It’s my wedding. Why is Bua ji preparing the guestlist?

I am a damn investment banker. Why does Dad want to ask the family astrologer for investment advice!?

This bias doesn’t just exist against the young. It’s prevalent the other way round, too. How often do we trust our parents with advice on work or relationship problems?

How quick are we to declare, “It’s not something they’ll understand. They come from a different time?”

Our knowledge, expertise, and profession get overshadowed by our age, income, gender, etc.

It starts out innocent-

If mom says some random white bird brought me to her, then that must be how children are born.

As we grow up, we realize that not everything our parents say makes sense. We stop taking their word for every single thing. We try to find the truth ourselves.

But ask yourself this- when you stopped taking your parents’ word as final, whose word did you start taking instead? Friends? Teachers? Seniors? Coworkers? Politicians?

Subconsciously, we may have put a similar faith in someone else. Or someone else may have chosen to not put their faith in us. And today, it’s prevalent across the society.

RECEPTION BIAS: SCHOOL/COLLEGE LEVEL

An unconventional idea coming from a student with a good academic record would be labeled as insightful. The same idea, coming from an academically weak student, would probably be ridiculed.

Is this a good enough reason to snub someone’s creativity? Is academic excellence the only credible parameter in deciding whether an idea is good or not?

RECEPTION BIAS: CORPORATE LEVEL

Moving ahead, we can notice a similar pattern in the corporate world. The same idea, being presented to a client by two different people - a manager and an executive - will garner two different reactions.?

In fact, mere presence of the founder in the meeting would reduce the number of client revisions by more than half, because of an impression that the ideas being presented have the founder’s approval.?

And we can imagine the level of disregard this same idea would’ve faced, had it come from a fresher or a new joiner.

RECEPTION BIAS: SOCIETAL LEVEL

Even as a society, we’re heavily influenced by the reception bias.?

A Bollywood couple endorsing small weddings on national television translates into them wanting “an intimate ceremony.” But a middle-class couple inviting any less than 200 people to their wedding is conveniently declared as not wanting to maintain good relations in the community.

If a religious leader preaches about following the heart, it’s wisdom speaking. If a tattoo artist says the same, it’s irresponsibility at its peak.

We focus so much on the “who” that we forget to consider the “what.”

RECEPTION BIAS: INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

The USA is a superpower. Winner of both world wars. All countries listen to, consider and respect the USA’s ideas. The USA is the Sirji. What an idea, Sirji.

Then who is Iraq? The problematic Tauji who has problems with all arrangements in a wedding?

Today, if Iraq were to criticize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and push for peace, it would, at best, end up in a mockery of the nation.

But the same criticism from the USA is seen as an attempt at world peace. A step in the right direction.

Even as countries, we have a reception bias in entertaining ideas.

Once again, the “who” overpowers the “what.”

The problem is that we’re not listening to the ideas, we’re listening to people, to designations, to names.

What we need is not to find someone with better credentials to trust, but to trust ourselves enough to be objective. To evaluate the “what” and not the “who.”