Tackling Cognitive Biases during Community Engagement

We all have cognitive biases, whether we like it or not. Communities also possess these biases, which, in large numbers, can overwhelm a project.

Cognitive biases are shortcuts that our brains take when receiving information. We take these shortcuts subconsciously and they work to shape and transform how we absorb and react to new information. Social media, news, and public perception help amplify these biases, which causes communities and individuals to solidify their beliefs, making them harder to persuade.

Below is a list of cognitive biases that affect successful stakeholder engagement practices, and how to adapt to them to better build trust and enthusiasm in the community for your project.

Cognitive dissonance occurs when people feel uncomfortable when new information opposes their existing beliefs and behaviours. To combat this discomfort, individuals often dismiss or deny new information, choosing instead to stick to what they know. To reduce this, you should actively involve individuals in your processes – allow them to test out any new services/technologies you’re pushing to allow them to experience the benefits of your project first-hand. This can be done during public exhibitions or community drop-in events.

Confirmation bias is when people tend to seek out information that supports their existing beliefs, while disregarding anything that contradicts them. This can appear as opponents of the project focusing on negative media coverage, or highlighting issues from similar past projects, and applying them to your work. You can challenge this by encouraging individuals in the community to consider different perspectives. A good idea is to do this during structured community workshops to help participants explore the pros and cons of the project in a balanced way.

The Endowment Effect is when individuals place a higher value on what they already own, purely because it is theirs. This can manifest as residents opposing the planting of new trees because it obstructs their view, instead of focusing on the community benefit of greater greenery. To combat this, you should help individuals feel a sense of ownership over the changes you’re putting in place by involving them in decisions. For example, you could use their input on the landscaping/design of a development that directly impacts them.

The Anchoring Effect is the bias that causes people to value the first piece of information they receive more than later information, which tends to have a greater influence over their beliefs and decisions. For example, if a previous and similar project caused major disruptions to the individual/community, then they may assume that the new project will have similar issues. To relieve this, you should carefully plan your communications, lead with your positives, not the negatives. Visual tools can also help highlight the long-term benefits of the project and draw attention away from any disruptions.

The Halo Effect causes individuals to form a general impression of a project purely based on one aspect of it (which can be negative or positive). This typically occurs during meetings with the project team, where a project leader may come across as dismissive or unapproachable, which causes individuals to assume that the entire project is poorly managed, despite its clear benefits. To avoid this as a project team member, ensure that you’re always showing your best self during public meetings. Make sure all your interactions with the community are positive. Listen, show empathy, and be polite. Create a welcoming atmosphere. Train your staff to improve their communications skills and even role-play difficult and confronting scenarios beforehand to help your team prepare.

The Primacy Effect describes how people typically remember the first information that they receive, which often shapes their overall impression of a project. If the first piece of information they hear is negative, then they may fixate on it. To avoid this, always lead with the positives and highlight the advantages of the project before discussing inconveniences.

Availability bias causes individuals to rely on the most readily available and easy to access information, even if it’s not representative of the bigger picture of the project. To combat this, ensure that project websites are spot-on and full of factual and easily accessible information that paints a positive image of the project as a whole. Visual aids can help to show the future result of the project, which aids in shifting focus from the short-term disruption to the long-term benefits. Also ensure that you are on-top of your social media monitoring, and check what information is immediately presented to your audience when your project is searched up.

The Bandwagon Effect triggers individuals to follow the crowd, especially when the crowd is enthusiastic about the project/decision. This is because when a group of people feel comfortable and confident in a decision it typically influences others to also show their support. To foster this be sure to leverage social proof and highlight positive feedback from supportive individuals, whether it be from social media/the news/in-person.

Negativity bias pulls people’s focus towards negative information, which gives it disproportionately greater weight than the positive information. To avoid this, you should create dedicated spaces for addressing concerns, where facts and understanding take focus. This can be community drop-in sessions or public exhibitions. Ensure that these sessions are separated from broader communications about the benefits of your project to keep negativity from overpowering your message/narrative.

By understanding and acknowledging these biases, we can work to shift them in favour of our projects, and permanently reshape community beliefs and decisions.