Skip to main content

Katharine Means- Hidden Bias

It was interesting to read that many studies show bias beginning to form in children as young as age 3. In early development "children pick up terms of racial prejudice without really understanding their significance". Once we as a society accept this fact, we can begin to nurture learning and home environments that ask kids to question their values and beliefs. Adults can also assume a responsibility for pointing out stereotypes to children rather than thinking the stereotypes will go over the children's heads.

Initially I was a bit nervous to take these tests and be confronted with the evidence that I harbor unconscious bias. However, both the article and Evelyn alleviated this worry by normalizing hidden bias. It is something we all possess as human beings. A benefits of these tests is that "the very act of taking the tests can force hidden biases into the conscious part of the mind". This uncovering can help people commit to making a conscious effort to change their behaviors so as not to reflect their biases.

Overall I was reminded of an important concept I've heard from others. The first thought that goes through your mind is what you've been conditioned to think. What you think, and do, next defines who you are now. By uncovering hidden biases we can make an active effort to move away from them towards a more accepting worldview.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Research- Andrew Moore

My first year at calarts, I was unfortunately raveled in a title 9 investigation revolving sexual misconduct. While I was not a involved directly, I was a bystander and very good friend to the person who started the investigation. I was asked by the affected person to be interviewed for evidence. My experience in the interview room with the investigator was anything but reassuring. I was asked to give my side of the story, but I was pushed by questions asked by the investigator that were geared towards finding the attacker innocent. I used to have trust in the government ability to handle situations like this justly, but I was disappointed to see that the disgusting stories that I've heard about victim blaming and non-fiction. The fact that it was unraveling itself before my eyes was very surprising. Unfortunately the person stayed in the dorms on campus through all of this and at the end of the year there was an even more dramatic event involving the same person and another gir...
Post a Comment
Read more

HIP HOP AND THE PRISON SYSTEM

“With five percent of the world's population, the US incarcerates 25 percent of the world's prisoners” (Daisy Hudson, Noisey Magazine. 2014). That same year “African Americans constituted 2.3 million, or 34%, of the total 6.8 million correctional population, though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately 32% of the US population, they comprised 56% of all incarcerated people in 2015 (NAACP). The prison system in America serves not as a correctional facility, but a container for which black bodies are buried alive. The conditions of which inmates are kept, the disparity in numbers and portrayal of those incarcerated. There is no question that factors such as education, employment, mental and physical health; the lack of access to such resources targets and propels African Americans through the pipeline to prison. In our history, it seems that prison, or largely the criminalization of African Americans, Black men in particularly, has been used as a tactic of oppr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Macy Rupp-Roof is on Fire response

1. CONTEXT: What were the circumstances that framed the meaning and process of this project?  Several things framed the meaning and process of this project.  Primarily, portrayal of “inner-city” youth in the media was the motivator for this project.  Events like lake and LA riots in such close proximity to the performance of the Roof is on Fire also provided a much more interesting grounding for the timing of the project.  2. CONTENT: What was the issue, need, idea or opportunity addressed by this project? Issues such as sex, abortion, race, financial income, and family were addressed and became the topic of this performance piece but specifically in relation to how these issues related to the teens.  The need for this discussion to come from teens is vital because teens are a direct reflection on how our culture is positively or negatively affecting society.  3: FORM: What is the medium that was used to address or ...
Post a Comment
Read more