Own-Creation Bias
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Own-Creation Bias is the systematic preference for ideas that the evaluator created, contributed to, or recognizes as similar to their own, first documented in research on creative idea evaluation. Its core proposition is that ownership contaminates judgment, so the ideas that survive selection are not the best but the most familiar to the deciders. The key qualifier is that the bias operates outside awareness, which is why it survives good intentions and requires structural remedies such as blind review.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Blind review: strip authorship from each idea before it is scored or ranked at all. - Independent criteria: set the evaluation standard before you see whose idea it actually is. - Multi-rater averaging: combine the scores from several independent judges to dilute any individual attachment.
Anchor fast decisions
People derive part of their self-worth from what they produce, so evaluating their own idea as weak is experienced as a small self-threat. The mind resolves that discomfort by finding reasons the idea is good, and because the reasons feel like analysis, the bias stays hidden. Structural blinding removes the cue that triggers the defense.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro-innovation_biasverified
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