Do you know when you’re objectifying people? Are you susceptible to believing lies? Are you a hedgehog or a fox?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone has biases, but you can come out on top by recognizing what biases you have and taking steps to minimize their negative impact on the way you perceive reality<\/a>. We put together eight bias exercises based on works by Malcolm Gladwell, Philip Tetlock, Lao Tzu<\/a>, and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s dive into these exercises, which you can complete individually or with a group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n In The Anatomy of Peace<\/a>,<\/em> the Arbinger Institute<\/a> discusses how we perpetuate conflict by misunderstanding its cause and acting inappropriately as a result. They identify four biases that prevent us from seeing others as people:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you find yourself blaming others, justifying your behaviors, making the world or the people around you look horrible, or feeling any of the emotions associated with each of these four biases, you should consider the strong possibility that you\u2019re biased in at least one of these ways. Use this bias exercise to help you find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Revisit the situation you described in the previous exercise. What follows are the second and third steps at the core of the cooperative mindset<\/a>: Remove the bias, and rethink the situation. Repeat this process whenever you find yourself holding a bias or in a conflict; it\u2019ll help you maintain a cooperative mindset and prime your conscience to give you an actionable push.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Blink<\/a><\/em>, Malcolm Gladwell warns that we can fall prey to unconscious biases we don\u2019t even know we have. As Gladwell points out, our snap judgments can be both the product and the root of prejudice and discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Acknowledging your biases is difficult and uncomfortable. It\u2019s also crucial to improving your snap judgments and aligning your unconscious attitudes with your conscious ones. In this bias exercise, reflect on your experiences and how they may have influenced your biases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lean In<\/a><\/em>, by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, explores the professional, personal and societal hurdles holding women back from leadership positions in the workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The context of this bias exercise is a 2003 study that tested perceptions of men and women in the workforce. The case study of a successful entrepreneur named Heidi was given to one group. An identical study was given to a second group, but with Heidi\u2019s name changed to Howard. The students respected <\/em>Heidi and Howard equally, but gave Howard greater likeability<\/a> <\/em>scores. The takeaway: Men can be decisive<\/a> and driven and remain likeable, but women are punished for acting the same way. Society expects women to act in a nurturing and communal way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In A Warning<\/a><\/em>, the anonymous author contends that Trump\u2019s supporters believe his lies because of their confirmation bias<\/a>. This bias is a human tendency, now abetted by social media, to interpret new information in a way that supports our existing views. Trump exploits this by reinforcing his supporters\u2019 prejudices with false information. For instance, if you think government is corrupt, you\u2019ll believe Trump\u2019s conspiracy theories about a Deep State that\u2019s out to destroy him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this bias exercise, consider the deep ideological and partisan divide in our country. It’s partly driven by \u201cconfirmation bias,\u201d or the tendency to interpret information in a way that supports our preexisting views. Social media, politicians, and partisan commentators play to this bias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Superforecasting<\/a><\/em>, Philip Tetlock shares that he first discovered that some forecasters are more accurate than others thanks to a decades-long study called \u201cExpert Political Judgment\u201d (EPJ). He split the forecasters in that tournament into two groups based on their performance: one that did no better (and sometimes much worse) than chance, and another that did slightly better. Tetlock named the first group \u201cHedgehogs” and the second group \u201cFoxes,” based on Isaiah Berlin\u2019s classic philosophy essay entitled \u201cThe Hedgehog and the Fox.” (The title comes from a line from an ancient Greek poem: \u201cThe fox knows many things but the hedgehog knows one big thing.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Tetlock and coauthor Dan Gardner, forecasters in the \u201chedgehog\u201d group are passionately ideological thinkers who see the world through the lens of a Big Idea. They organize new information to fit their Big Idea, and they ignore any information that doesn\u2019t fit that paradigm. The \u201cBig Ideas\u201d themselves vary widely from liberal to conservative and everything in between. Foxes, on the other hand, are \u201ceclectic experts\u201d who have a wide range of analytical tools at their disposal rather than a single Big Idea. The authors argue that this allows foxes to be more flexible, changing their approach based on the particular problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By nature, we all lean more toward either fox or hedgehog thinking<\/a>. This bias exercise will help you reflect on the way you think and identify biases<\/a> that might be holding you back<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tao Te Ching<\/a><\/em> by Lao Tzu asserts that, to live according to the Tao<\/a>, you should strive to achieve balance through objectivity. The Tao is the birthplace of all things and doesn\u2019t discriminate between good and evil. In the same way, you must embrace all people and things, disregarding any sense of personal perspective and removing the concepts of good and evil from your mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we label or define our surroundings, we create conflict, attributing particular qualities based on our personal biases. This manipulates our view of reality. Objectivity is one of the most important aspects of living according to the Tao. If you allow your personal biases to influence your decision-making<\/a>, you won\u2019t be able to truly engage with the world around you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Naked Statistics<\/a><\/em>, Charles Wheelan writes that biased data can sabotage otherwise sound research methods and statistical calculations. Sources of bias in data may be glaringly obvious or so subtle as to go unnoticed. If we want our data to be reliable, we should be aware of and take steps to mitigate potential sources of bias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this bias exercise, consider the following hypothetical research scenario: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Researchers interested in the effect of yoga and meditation<\/a> on emotional wellbeing set up a booth at a large ashram on the last day of a week-long yoga retreat. (Their null hypothesis is that participating in yoga and meditation every day has no impact on emotional well-being<\/a>.) As participants leave the retreat, many stop by the booth to fill out the researchers\u2019 questionnaire, where they are asked whether they believe that yoga and meditation have a positive impact on their emotional well-being and to rate their sense of emotional well-being today compared to the first day of the retreat. Using this data, the researchers reject their null hypothesis and publish a paper entitled: \u201cDaily Yoga Practice Universally Improves Emotional Well-Being.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you know when you’re objectifying people? Are you susceptible to believing lies? Are you a hedgehog or a fox? Everyone has biases, but you can come out on top by recognizing what biases you have and taking steps to minimize their negative impact on the way you perceive reality. We put together eight bias exercises based on works by Malcolm Gladwell, Philip Tetlock, Lao Tzu, and others. Let’s dive into these exercises, which you can complete individually or with a group.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":48158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,43],"tags":[849],"class_list":["post-117002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-general","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nExercise 1: Identify Your Biases That Objectify Others<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 2: Remove the Bias and Rethink the Situation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 3: Confront Your Ingrained Biases<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 4: Finding Howard Within Heidi <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 5: Test Your Confirmation Bias<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 6: Are You a Hedgehog or a Fox?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 7: Maintain Objectivity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Exercise 8: Examine Your Sources of Bias <\/h2>\n\n\n\n