You may be biased and not even know it

[GostHacked]

So you know everyone in the world, do you?

Let's talk about the human condition. We don't need to know everyone in the world to say that all people are biased.

My view is that it's not a fact that everyone is biased and I believe that there are some people who are not. Nothing "biased" about that.

That in of itself is a bias. Because you are taking a stance based on not knowing everyone in the world as I am.

Now if you'd like to offer up some indisputable proof that everyone is biased, go for it. In the meantime, it's just your opinion that everyone is biased, not a fact, as you are presenting it.

http://www.linkageinc.com/thinking/linkageleader/Documents/Howard_Ross_Fighting_the_Bias_in_Your_Brain.pdf

Buried deep within our subconscious mind, all of us harbor biases that we consciously reject.

These are not harmless thoughts that pop up periodically and get overruled by our reason. We

act on these thoughts, often unwittingly. We all have bias that is beyond the reach of our

normal range of awareness. This is unconscious or hidden bias.

Studies have been done on bias.

The problem with the good person/bad person paradigm is two-fold: it virtually assures that

both on a collective and individual basis we will never “do diversity right” because every

human being has bias of one kind or another. Secondly, it demonstrates a lack of understanding

of a reality: human beings, at some level, need bias to survive. So, are we biased? Of course.

Virtually every one of us is biased toward something, somebody, or some group.

Implicit biases grow out of normal and adaptive features of human thinking. Our very survival

at one time depended upon our adaptive tendency to categorize, to form groups and to absorb

subtle social messages and cues. Navigating a complex world requires us to make sense of the

environment around us.

The problem arises when we form associations that contradict our intentions, beliefs and values.

That is, many people unwittingly associate “female” with “weak,” “Arab” with “terrorist,” or

“black” with “criminal,” even though such stereotypes undermine shared values such as fairness

and equality.

Which speaks for you - not everyone in the world.

All people have preferences, all people have biases. It's part of human nature.

[Guest American Woman]

It's more a matter of common knowledge.

Ummmm. No. It's not. At best it would be just a matter of public opinion; if it's "knowledge," then offer up the proof. Until you do, it's merely opinion.

That's just one dictionary's opinion.

It's the definition of "biased." If you think definitions are merely "opinion," then anyone can say any word means whatever they want it to mean.

[Canuckistani]

Bias indicates unfairness and unwarranted feelings/judgment/opinions. Why do you think all humans are biased because they have had different life experiences - and that it's inescapable? I personally don't believe that everyone is biased.

Then all you have to do is produce one person who holds no biases at all, and your point is proven.

[Guest American Woman]

Then all you have to do is produce one person who holds no biases at all, and your point is proven.

Say I did produce someone who is not biased - another person's biases might prevent them from seeing that this person has no biases.

But the bottom line is - I don't have to produce anything to prove that everyone isn't necessarily biased. The person/people making the claim that everyone is biased has to prove that it's true.

Edited July 4, 2012 by American Woman

[Canuckistani]

Say I did produce someone who is not biased - another person's biases might prevent them from seeing that this person has no biases.

But the bottom line is - I don't have to produce anything to prove that everyone isn't necessarily biased. The person/people making the claim that everyone is biased has to prove that it's true.

First sentence - good one.

Second sentence, that's a fallacy. You're making a claim just as much as they are. But the burden of proof on you is a lot less onerous than on them. The people saying there's no unbiased person in the world are going by their experience of never having met one. If you have met one, you should produce them, otherwise the sample so far would weigh against your argument.

[Guest American Woman]

First sentence - good one.

Second sentence, that's a fallacy. You're making a claim just as much as they are. But the burden of proof on you is a lot less onerous than on them. The people saying there's no unbiased person in the world are going by their experience of never having met one. If you have met one, you should produce them, otherwise the sample so far would weigh against your argument.

I should produce a person I met personally? How should I go about doing that?

The experience of "never having met one" - as there are how many people in the world? - is rather meaningless as any sort of proof regarding "everyone" - especially since it may be their biases preventing them from recognizing that they have met one.

And no, I'm not making "a claim." Saying something is true is a claim - saying I don't believe the claim is necessarily true, and pointing out that there is no proof, is simply questioning a claim.

[GostHacked]

I should produce a person I met personally? How should I go about doing that?

Exactly, how does one go about that? It seems that you were asking the same of me.

The experience of "never having met one" - as there are how many people in the world? - is rather meaningless as any sort of proof regarding "everyone" - especially since it may be their biases preventing them from recognizing that they have met one.

I love watching you chase your tail sometimes.

[Canuckistani]

I should produce a person I met personally? How should I go about doing that?

The experience of "never having met one" - as there are how many people in the world? - is rather meaningless as any sort of proof regarding "everyone" - especially since it may be their biases preventing them from recognizing that they have met one.

And no, I'm not making "a claim." Saying something is true is a claim - saying I don't believe the claim is necessarily true, and pointing out that there is no proof, is simply questioning a claim.

Just mention a person you think is totally unbiased. You must have formed your opinion on this somehow. Or are you just saying theoretically there could be an unbiased person in the world? Nobody would disagree with you there, I guess.

Personally I think our evolutionary heritage biases us towards being biased. I believe there are studies that show babies being biased toward the language of their mother, for instance. The intelligent person at least recognizes that and tries to compensate.

[Guest American Woman]

Just mention a person you think is totally unbiased.

Why? What would it prove? - there would likely be others who disagree. Even if a person is completely and utterly unbiased, others' biases would prevent them from seeing it. But the fact is, no one can factually say that everyone is biased. That is simply their opinion.

You must have formed your opinion on this somehow. Or are you just saying theoretically there could be an unbiased person in the world? Nobody would disagree with you there, I guess.

It doesn't matter how I formed my opinion - the fact that no one can disagree with your theoretical scenario supports what I am saying.

Personally I think our evolutionary heritage biases us towards being biased. I believe there are studies that show babies being biased toward the language of their mother, for instance.

I believe that would be in the category of a "preference," not a "bias;" and understandably so, not unfairly or due to prejudice.

The intelligent person at least recognizes that and tries to compensate.

So a person who doesn't recognize what you believe - ie: agree with what you think - isn't intelligent?

[Guest American Woman]

I love watching you chase your tail sometimes.

Buh bye.

[GostHacked]

Buh bye.

Taking a queue from Betsy's notebook?

[Melanie_]

Implicit attitude test

Here's a fun way to measure our own implicit attitudes, or biases. I just took one of the tests, and it says I have a strong preference for thin people over fat people. Anyone else want to try one of the tests?

From their website...

Project Implicit is a non-profit organization and international collaborative network of researchers investigating implicit social cognition - thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. Project Implicit is the product of a team of scientists whose research produced new ways of understanding attitudes, stereotypes and other hidden biases that influence perception, judgment, and action.

[TheNewTeddy]

Since all people have had different experiences throughout life, all humans are inherently biased. It's inescapable.

This.

I have 0 doubt that my hard-right stances on Justice issues stem, in part, from my extreme bullying during school. I also have 0 doubt that I will ever change my opinions on justice; despite the fact that I am aware of my bias. Rather than desiring to change it, I am proud of it.

[TheNewTeddy]

Implicit attitude test

Here's a fun way to measure our own implicit attitudes, or biases. I just took one of the tests, and it says I have a strong preference for thin people over fat people. Anyone else want to try one of the tests?

From their website...

Says I associate white people with weapons.

[Guest American Woman]

This.

I have 0 doubt that my hard-right stances on Justice issues stem, in part, from my extreme bullying during school. I also have 0 doubt that I will ever change my opinions on justice; despite the fact that I am aware of my bias. Rather than desiring to change it, I am proud of it.

We all have reasons for believing as we do; that doesn't mean our beliefs are "biased." We do sometimes have legitimate, understandable, justifiable, educated reasons for believing as we do. Hopefully, we most often do.

OTOH, if you were to believe/insist that most kids are bullies, and that they cannot be rehabilitated, then you would be biased.

[Canuckistani]

The tests are way too involved for me. But I know that I'm biased against Muslims and against Arabs, Muslims or not. I try to guard against acting on those biases tho. I have Muslim acquaintances with whom I get along very well and who I think are great people. I'm just biased against Muslims as a group.

[Bonam]

If you think it is possible to be unbiased, just read through this list of cognitive biases:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases

While theoretically it may be possible that there exists some person that has never allowed any of these biases to be a part of their thought process, I would estimate the likelihood of that as close enough to zero to be effectively impossible. Everyone is, or has been, biased in some way or another.

A few examples that are particularly prevalent:

Bias blind spot – the tendency to see oneself as less biased than other people, or to be able to identify more cognitive biases in others than in oneself

Confirmation bias – the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions

Gambler's fallacy – the tendency to think that future probabilities are altered by past events, when in reality they are unchanged. Results from an erroneous conceptualization of the Law of large numbers. For example, "I've flipped heads with this coin five times consecutively, so the chance of tails coming out on the sixth flip is much greater than heads.

Irrational escalation – the phenomenon where people justify increased investment in a decision, based on the cumulative prior investment, despite new evidence suggesting that the decision was probably wrong.

Outgroup homogeneity bias – individuals see members of their own group as being relatively more varied than members of other groups

Hindsight bias: the inclination to see past events as being predictable; also called the "I-knew-it-all-along" effect.