BiasSocial judgment · Conformity Bias · Entry 150
Ingroup Bias – when what’s ‘ours’ is always better than what’s ‘theirs’
Do you think your team’s way is the best and anything external isn’t worth considering? That’s Ingroup Bias, also known as ‘Not Invented Here’ – the tendency to reject ideas, research, and products simply because they come from outside your group.
Where it can show up
- Business & technology – companies refuse to adopt external solutions, even if they’re more efficient.
- Science & research – scholars dismiss data from ‘outside their school’ regardless of its validity.
- Politics & society – people reject policies or innovations from other cultures simply because ‘that’s not how we do it.’
A practical countermeasure
- Evaluate quality, not origin – a good idea remains good no matter who came up with it.
- Stay open to alternatives – external methods and insights can be valuable.
- Watch your reasoning – if your only argument is ‘it’s not ours,’ you might be letting bias cloud your judgment.