The Mere Exposure Effect

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Take a look at this image. What do you see?

This is a real image, but it's bleached and poor quality.

Chances are, you can't spot what this is.

Have another look.

Spotted anything?

I imagine it's still a no.

However, if I tell you to look for a cow, you might see the image differently.

As Robson¹ writes:

Let's try another example (also from Robson's book).

What do you see in the image below? (Spend at least 7 seconds looking).

When I first saw this image, I found it impossible to make out the character.

But if you see the original image (here), it suddenly becomes a lot clearer

Robson writes:

This simple test shows the power of an important bias; the mere exposure effect.

The power of exposure

Zajonc² in 1969 demonstrated that repeated exposure to stimuli increases liking and preference.

In his studies, participants rated unfamiliar Turkish words more favourably simply because they had seen them more often even without any additional information or context about what the words meant.

And brands have known this for decades.

Coca-Cola spends billions advertising a product you already know. Not to inform you. Simply to expose you.

McDonald's golden arches are more recognisable than the Christian cross. Not because they're beautiful. Because you've seen them ten thousand times.

Familiarity breeds likeability.

You'll never unsee the dog and cow in those pictures because your brain will remember the initial exposure.

On a much larger scale, McDonald's and Coca-Cola do the same.

Except they don't show you their brand once; they aim for multiple exposures a day, 365 days a year.

No wonder it's almost impossible to compete with them.

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The mere exposure effect is one of 85 principles you'll find in the Nudge Vaults.​

In fact, Nudge Vaults subscribers can use VaultsGPT to apply this principle to their work:

Get access right now →​

Or you can preview your first 50 insights for free →

​Phill​

P.S. I talk about the Nudge Vaults every week because I want to benefit from the mere exposure effect. Sorry for influencing you in this way (but I hope it works).