Watch for
Meetings staying on familiar topics and avoiding new or conflicting information.
Social & PerceptionBias #52
Shared Information Bias
Groups talk about what everyone already knows.
The tendency for group members to discuss information everyone already shares rather than surfacing unique information held by individuals.
Why it matters: Key finding in group decision-making research explaining why diverse teams fail to leverage diversity.
Try this
Ask each person for information only they would know before discussing shared knowledge.
Real-world example
A meeting rehashes well-known updates while critical concerns known to specific members never come up.
Key researchers
Garold Stasser, William Titus
First described in 1985
Psychological mechanism
Social validation and cognitive economy. Shared information can be validated. Unique information requires more effort and carries social risk.
Seminal research
Garold Stasser and William Titus (1985), "Pooling of unshared information in group decision making."
Related Biases
Debrief
Biases are not character flaws. They are recurring patterns in how minds compress uncertainty, save energy, and narrate reality. Once you recognise the pattern, you can slow the decision down, test the assumption, and make space for a better explanation.
Sources
Original ResearchStasser and Titus (1985) — Original research
EducationalAPA Dictionary entry