By Jason Hreha

Glossary

False Uniqueness Bias

Reviewed by Jason Hreha

Published 1 min read

What is False Uniqueness Bias?

False uniqueness bias, also called the false uniqueness effect, means underestimating how many other people share your abilities, qualities or behavior. Something you regard as rare in yourself may be more common than you think.

An example of false uniqueness bias

You are skilled at an activity and assume few other people can do it. If it is common in the relevant group, that estimate is mistaken. You do not have to believe you are the only person with the skill for the estimate to be too low.

What the research found

In a study of college-aged men's health behaviors, Suls, Wan and Sanders (1988) found some support for people underestimating how common their own desirable behaviors were. The support was partial and concerned those health-behavior estimates.

Why it matters

Feeling different does not establish that an estimate is biased. The useful comparison is with information about the relevant population. Ask how common the quality or behavior actually is before deciding that someone has exaggerated their uniqueness.

Assumed similarity bias concerns projecting your own traits or preferences onto other people.