The Mere Exposure Effect
During our transition back to Canada, someone lent us their bright red Chevy Avalanche truck. “Suddenly” I started seeing that there was a LOT of Avalanches on the road, especially red ones! Have you noticed that when you’ve made a major purchase, you begin to see that many other people have bought the same thing as you?
Advertisers know all about this. So should you, the leader.
It’s called the ‘mere exposure effect’, the tendency to express a liking for, and/or an attraction to things merely because of a familiarity with them. Our perception becomes selective for the things we already know and like. Think about it – were there really more trucks out there just like mine, or was my attention more focused on them because I was now more attuned to the Red Avalanche?
For the nomadic leader, the mere exposure effect holds both value and danger. Here are 2 examples:
1. You have tapped into a successful strategy. As the execution rolls out, you begin to notice elements of your strategy in other successful organizations.
- The benefit: Not only do you feel a confirmation that others see the same benefits to the strategy (or elements of it), but you now have more ‘windows’ through which you can see how others are putting their strategy in play. There are more opportunities to compare notes and perhaps improve your strategy.
- The caution: You stop looking inside your organization to see if the strategy is really working because you are focused on comparisons and seeing who else is in your camp. The strategies may have similarities, but are your organizations the same? The mere exposure effect can lull you into failure to acknowledge your organizational uniqueness and the attention that is required to maintain and leverage it. The mere exposure effect causes you to become selective in your perception of reality. Your attention is inadvertently directed to certain ideas, emphases and strategies because they bear a similarity to what you are already exposed to. However the result is you may miss the value of ideas that are outside the frame of your current thinking.
- The benefit: You are identifying the base factors for success. This will help you build a profile of the kind of person that will help bring more of that success to your organization.
- The caution: I see two cautions here. First, you can create an imbalance by hiring too many people who will bring you ‘success’ (however you define it) but neglect to see the constellation of other skills and abilities required to support these star players. Secondly, changing environments will mean skills sets need to be constantly honed. To ‘see’ what makes for success today may not be as successful in even a few months if the landscape shifts. The mere exposure effect can create myopia in hiring and/or training.
Nomadic leaders who have to stay abreast of ever-changing landscapes can use the mere exposure effect to their advantage by making a conscious choice to become familiar with things outside their normal context. The result is an ability ‘see’ more of the ideas, strategies or other key elements to which you were exposed. Then you will be able to tap into it for your advantage as an organization. Some ideas:
- Go see or read about a completely different industry. Talk to their leaders and practitioners.
- Get involved in some learning experiences that are outside the core of what you are involved with.
- Read about the success you have not yet achieved.
- Go SEE the success you seek.
- If you are in the C-Suite – take a walk on the proverbial ‘shop floor’. See what you have not seen for a while.
The mere exposure effect can become a useful learning strategy for a leader to see new opportunities for his/her organization. Then, by slowly introducing the rest of your organization to a great idea, you can use the mere exposure effect to bring about the change you seek.
Harv Matchullis
harvey@visiontracks.ca
www.visiontracks.ca
