Explore your biases

There are growing discussions on gender, race, faith, caste, nationality, socioeconomic status, and more, in recent days. We categorise people with bias, as bad. But, before calling out on someone else, let’s explore biases we have, first. As we’ve all made decisions based on our biases and have been wrong.  And you’ll also find that admitting our biased thinking isn’t easy.

Understanding bias

Let’s first understand what bias is. Oxford dictionary defines the word bias as a strong feeling in favour of or against one group of people, or one side in an argument, often not based on fair judgment. Studies show all of us have biases over some people or ideas and have made biased decisions, even if we did not intend it or our values do not allow it.

To understand why this is, let’s understand how our mind plays a role in this process. If you have a brain, you have bias. Being biased was key to the survival of our species. Determining what is dangerous versus isn’t or favourable versus isn’t in a matter of milli-seconds, was crucial for our ancestors to survive in the wild. Today, although we do not face the same threats, the amygdala (an ancient part of the brain) responds the same way to a situation where we make decisions that we believe are crucial. And unconscious bias plays a vital role when you are making such decisions.

Let’s deconstruct this. From our childhood days, based on our experiences, our brain stores information and forms shortcuts to be able to access information quickly, as and when we need it. We consciously know to steer clear of fire as it burns. Similarly, our brain also forms unconscious biases outside our conscious awareness. For instance, a bird snatched food from a child’s hand, shocking him, and the brain stored information that birds are bad. He grew up having no interest in birds. If he were to decide between rescuing either the animal or bird in an emergency, what do you think would be his preference?

Impact of unconscious bias

While our brain develops unconscious bias to enable us to make decisions that are safe for us, it is often shaped by the familiarity of what is “right,” or “acceptable.” For example, we may choose to hire people who share a similar background, education, or experiences with us, over someone from different gender, race, or a person with a disability determining them as not suitable, without proper basis.  Even if we believe in and promote equality.

Similarly, we tend to attribute inability to a colleague from a different age group, background, or with mental illness, when they find something challenging. But if we found ourselves facing the same challenge, we might call it stress. We believe that we are treating everyone equally, but in reality, we are not.

How can you deal with unconscious bias?

It is essential to explore biases you might have unconsciously adopted in various aspects of life and challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone. Remember, we have evolved with the prefrontal cortex in the brain that enables us to consciously control, act, and even stop the amygdala from taking over. So, to start, consciously,

• Accept that you have a bias,
• Educate yourself on how a particular group can be stereotyped and check your beliefs,
• Take feedback,
• Let others challenge your assumptions,
• Question yourself if you were indeed biased when someone called out on you,
• Check how much you empathise with individuals of different groups,
• Check your media habits, follow diverse sources and writers,
• Choose people who challenge the norms,
• Engage with people from diverse groups,
• Seek diverse perspectives, and question your beliefs.

Avoid biased actions

Biases stem from our tendency to organise our social world by categorising people into groups. We need to stop and consciously track our feelings, thought processes, generalisations and behaviour towards different groups of people. This is a lifelong process, and we will need to keep learning and unlearning. Design ways to tackle them and be proactive by checking and accepting new views. Similarly, even explore your views on topics such as the use of plastic, climate, shopping, animal rights, etc. and check if there is biased thinking.

To tackle bias, start with yourself.

Ref: Try IAT to explore biases you may have.