Ways to empower your thinking: Control these 6 Biases
“Some social scientists say that in-group/out-group biases are hard-wired into the human brain. Even without overt prejudice, it is cognitively convenient for people to sort items into categories and respond based on what is usually associated with those categories: a form of statistical discrimination, playing the odds.” Rosabeth Moss Kanter.
From the day we were born, we absorb good and bad biases that are with us for the rest of our lives. The problem with these biases is that they affect our thinking. We aren’t always consciously aware of them and their effect on us.
What are they?
Psychology Today defines a “bias as a tendency, inclination or prejudice toward or against something or someone.” The Cambridge English Dictionary defines “bias as the action of supporting or opposing a particular person, group or idea unfairly, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment.” The second definition describes the action of being biased, while the first describes our internal feelings or tendencies.
I prefer to think of the biases as these internal tendencies we have that can affect the actions we take. A view that includes both definitions. Our biases affect our thinking, non-thinking, decision-making, and all aspects of our lives. Biases create behaviors we might if we were thinking clearly, be ashamed of.
For example, I have a positive bias towards digital solutions to problems, while others have a bias towards pencil and paper. I have a tendency to want to help others, which creates the personal problem of overload because I can’t say no gracefully. I don’t have any skin color biases because my life experiences included living in many parts of the country and experiencing life with those of color.
Why are biases important to understand?
It is important to understand, examine, and control our biases because they affect our thinking, decision-making, and relationships. These all impact our beliefs and worldview. As we look at the six common biases below, think about how they might affect your decisions or relationships.
Confirmation bias: They also call this my side bias. When we read or hear something that comes from the other side, we automatically unconsciously disregard it. We saw a lot of this in the last US election. But there is another effect of this, we also search out and listen to or read, only those people that support my side or point of view. The historical concept of dialogue on serious issues that we face doesn’t happen. We have forgotten to look for the nuggets of truth that even those we disagree with may have. We are losing our inclination to find the truth.
Anchoring bias: When deciding, this bias is one where we rely too heavily on the first information we uncover. The first piece of information clouds our judgment about future-related information we get. Let’s say you want to find the right personal knowledge management software to use. The first thing you come across lists the packages with ease of use. No matter what else you look at before making a choice, ease of use is going to be the anchor idea that affects your choice.
Authority Bias: When we hear the opinions of others, we give more weight to the person who is an authority figure than to others. We assume he knows more and is more accurate in what he says. For example, we assume officers in organizations to know more than just a member. If we are deciding and gathering data, we believe in an authority figure more than another. A tendency we should always examine.
Conformity Bias: This is the tendency people have to behave like those around them. Be a member. Get approval. Front of mind for me is the fiasco in the US Senate. Equally balanced by political parties, but the senators have forgotten to vote based on what is good for America and are conforming in lockstep with their party. This is one of the scariest biases that I see, it brings back memories of the rise of Naziism in Germany. Humans must think and pierce the veils of conformity.
Stereotyping: This is a behavioral bias. Basically, it says if we observe one aspect in a person’s persona; we attribute to him all the other aspects of everyone else in the group. For example, a statement that all immigrants crossing the border are criminals or drug addicts is an example of stereotyping. This is blatantly false on its surface. Immigrants are people, some good, some bad. To stereotype them as all bad is ludicrous.
Dunning-Krueger Affect: People with low ability in a task overestimate their ability to do the task. We all think we can do most things better than we can. An example is when you are in a group discussion, one person proclaims his option is the correct one and everyone else has an uninformed wrong opinion. Everyone knows he is wrong, but he continues to pontificate and is oblivious to other comments.
There are many other biases that we may have or fall prey to. Several hundred that psychologists have identified. We have to get past our biases when we think and decide. Always search for the truth by asking questions such as why, what do I base this on, can I be wrong.
Even fake news tries to convince us of its reality, but it does so mostly by appealing to your preconceived notions, your shared biases, or your prejudice. How to do the opposite? To create a sense of the real and then challenge your biases. I think that is my favorite aspect of writing, and that is what I’ve tried to do in ‘The Lovers.’ Amitava Kumar.
