Blinded By Bias

Bias is defined as the prejudice that has a person favoring a belief, an ideology, person, or group over another, often unfairly and without an informed reason. While some preferences, like for strawberry over chocolate, are innocent, bias is the foundation of all aggression, oppression, inequality, stereotyping, and social injustice. We can be good people at our core but become less wise, less accepting, and less empathetic because of our biases. Our biases influence our thoughts and emotions, our day-to-day lives, our interactions with others, our decision-making process, our ability to be objective, impartial, and have an open mind. Even our ability to receive advice and help can be unduly effected. There’s very little that’s not influenced by our personal and often unconscious biases.

How do you address your bias? The first step is to accept that you have them. The second step is to learn to familiarize yourself with different kinds of bias and determine if they are present in your daily interactions. For example, if you are a woman who wants gender equality, do you react to women being objectified but then objectify men? Bias often expresses as an assumption. For example, believing that a person with a mental illness is more likely  to harm another person than someone without one. It can be seen in the belief that a person with a disability always needs to be helped or wants to be fixed when many are at peace with their situation and capable of doing everything others can do – possibly more.

By exploring your personal biases and reducing their influence, you can identify and help eliminate bias and its effect in the broader community.