The mere exposure effect. What else should we know about it, apart from the fact that its Bulgarian name sounds a little funny?
In 1968, social psychologist Robert Zajonc described a phenomenon now known as the mere exposure effect.
The idea is simple: repeated contact with something or someone can make us feel more positively towards them.
And here is the uncomfortable question for leaders: can that feeling influence our professional assessment, too?
Do we evaluate people by what they actually contribute — or also by how often we see them?
The people we hear from, meet and observe more often may begin to seem more engaged, more capable and more promising. Meanwhile, someone quieter, in another function or simply less present in our daily work may gradually slip out of view. Simply because we have seen less of them.
And so we begin to confuse: visibility with potential, accessibility with trust, presence with contribution.
The question for leaders is: “Whom am I rating more highly simply because I see them more often?” And the harder one: “Do I have the courage to admit it — and do something about it?”
To examine the assumptions shaping your own leadership decisions, explore executive and business coaching. To open a wider conversation about the psychology of leadership, see keynote speaking.