The term bias is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as an inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair. Reflection on my journey in life to this point reveals that that bias is a rather broad subject, much of which is pre-conscious or unconscious, and has varied in its expression throughout my life.
Bias is inevitable in all of us at one level. I don't like certain sports teams, certain styles of food and certain forms of music. At this level of bias, there is a presumed general consensus that this is accepted as a personal choice.
Bias can be thought of as a form of speech and as such I am free to have a bias to rare meat and raw fish. Some bias is positive, I have biases toward my children and family. Sometimes they can blind reality and at times can enhance one's awareness of reality. Remember Oxford states for or against a person or group. If I can understand my biases, I can use them to better myself and take a negative to a positive.
What I must be aware of is bias that is associated with emotions, especially anger and disgust. Here I find that introspection is not only painful but it is associated with denial. The unfair part of bias are the thoughts and actions I express that show favoritism or immediately associate certain visual or auditory stimuli with a negative impression. This is extremely important if dealing with students as it certainly clouds the first impression.
For example, I am a white male and see myself as free of any racial or ethnic bias. I am also well aware that I have a tendency toward a high work ethic and strong belief in self motivation and self sufficiency. My bias shows itself when I expect the same of others and I have looked on perfectly normal behavior in others as laziness or avoidance simply because they do not share the same voracious desire to excel as I expect of myself. There is a judgment here that I connect with motivation, not intellect.
I have a bias toward proper use of the English language. Slang, swearing for the sake of attention, urban dictionary speech and trash talk will draw my attention and half your IQ and worth. That is one of the familial biases that I grew up with and is internally connected with anger and the disgust I mentioned earlier. Awareness of it actually helps calm the visceral side of the interaction and I use that gut angst to become aware of unfairness that may be edging into my interaction with that person.
Arrogant little S.O.B. aren't I!
The oddity is that it is not the adolescent that I find problems with when it comes to the trash talk and rap culture, it is the adults that I find myself categorizing. I expect the young to rebel and to act out, but also to grow up. Then I read this and there is another bias, we are supposed to grow out of these behaviors. Sigh.
Bias for me is judging unfairly, and looking through some of the journals I did as a youth and in mid-life it is evident that bias has changed over time as I developed more experience with people and different cultural beliefs.
I look at bias as a phenomena that fits with Maslow and his hierarchy of needs. As I gain more self understanding and can see the world from an empathic standard, bias becomes less needed to reinforce my own self worth.
I still hate the NY Yankees. That bias I can live with. And the Philadelphia Flyers- we won't go there.
This is well written. I like how you point out how we all have a bias at some level. This is so true but some people just cannot accept this except on a personal choice level. I think that everyone has a more substantial bias dealing with emotions; however, it is often unconscious. The trick, like you said, is to recognize and understand them. Your bias toward rap culture and people who trash talk as adults is something we share.
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ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, awareness is important to decreasing bias, but it is not the only thing to consider. I think that negative biases must be examined and questioned on many levels. I believe that one must ask oneself: Where does this bias come from? Is this bias an indication of another bias? What are the emotions tied to my bias (for example; fear, inferiority, anger, sadness)? What assumptions am I making about a person/group based on their behavior? And are these assumptions or implications truly factual, logical, reasonable, and probable?
ReplyDeleteI think biases exist as a part of mental categorization, which is mentally convenient, but not always rational, correct or productive.“…Kahnerman and Tversky have suggested a descriptive model of inductive judgment, which people use to heuristic devices rather than the rules of probability to make inductive judgments” (Hunt &Ellis, 1999). People base many of their decisions and judgments on past experiences and the information they have acquired as perceived truth, which goes against the definition of rational behavior.
I think that self awareness is the first step to overcoming biases, as you suggest. I think the next step is looking at how biases actually develop and are constructed in our thoughts. Then, I think it is possible to take them apart, one faulty belief at time.
Reference
Hunt, R.R., Ellis, H.C., (1999). Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology. Boston: Mc Graw Hill College.