Smashing Unconscious Bias: Making the Unconscious, Conscious

What is Unconscious Bias? Unconscious bias applies to how we perceive other people.

Smashing Unconscious Bias: Making the Unconscious, Conscious No matter how much we think we shouldn’t judge others, we are conditioned to do it.  We narrate and share stories about others – usually without most of the facts.  To be human is to make snap judgments or expansive announcements.  Too often impressions are skewed or outright wrong.  We are destined to repeat these mistakes over and over again. 

5 Tendencies that will increase our awareness in why and how we judge others. “When an honest man discovers he is mistaken, he will either cease to be mistaken, or he will cease to be honest” - unknown

5 Tendencies: Look for the “halo effect” and its counterpart. If someone has a few positive traits then we tend to see them more positively as a whole.  The opposite is also true.  If someone has impressed us with a few negative traits, our overall impression will tend to be negative. 

5 Tendencies: 2. Jumping to conclusions is our default mode. We assume certain characteristics about others. To not recognize this leads to the counterproductive habit of conclusion jumping.

5 Tendencies: 3. Looks can be deceiving. Below the surface, people tend to judge others based on their own fears. When we look at someone for the first time we see a reflection of our past experiences and associations. .

5 Tendencies: 4. Beware of the Fundamental Attribution Error. We tend to attribute our behavior to environment and other people’s behavior to character.

5 Tendencies: 5. What you say about others says a lot about you. Those who judge harshly usually have less room to talk. “When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself” - Wayne Dyer

Smashing Unconscious Bias: Making the Unconscious, Conscious “If you’re not conscious of the biases that you have, you’re not just contributing at the level that you could, and you’re not innovating at the level that you could” – Megan Smith (Former VP, Google – US Chief Technical Officer)

Smashing Unconscious Bias: Making the Unconscious, Conscious https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW5s_-Nl3JE

ASK YOURSELF: When is the last time you formed an impression of someone before you really got to know them? Do you remember those times when someone judged you when they barely knew you? What did it feel like when you were judged or misunderstood? What changed for you when someone showed you compassion or extended forgiveness?