Qu'est-ce que Affinity Bias ?

Definition

Affinity bias (also called similarity bias) is the unconscious tendency to favour individuals who are similar to ourselves in background, education, interests, values or identity. In recruitment, it leads evaluators to rate candidates who remind them of themselves — same university, same sport, same hometown — more highly than equally or better-qualified candidates who are different.

In practice

Affinity bias operates quietly and is rarely deliberate — an interviewer may simply feel a candidate is "a good fit" without recognising that the feeling stems from perceived similarity rather than competence. It compounds other biases: similar backgrounds trigger the halo effect; shared group membership reduces confirmation bias scrutiny. The systemic impact is significant: homogeneous hiring perpetuates teams that lack diverse perspectives, reducing innovation and problem-solving capability. Countermeasures include diverse hiring panels, structured interview criteria focused on demonstrated competencies, anonymous CV screening, and explicit reflection prompts asking evaluators to distinguish between "I liked this person" and "this person demonstrated the required competencies."

Key takeaway

"I felt comfortable with them immediately" is often affinity bias in disguise — comfort and competence are different things and require separate evaluation.