Are we ever aware of being bias without realizing the factor? Psychologists declare this phenomenon as “bias blind spot"
We often think we are making objective, rational decisions about other people, countries or communities. In academia, research have shown that this is not the case, we are a highly influenced generation by thoughts and feelings we are not even aware of. Especially in this modern social world.
For simplicity,we manage the data mine or extract vast amount of information in our social worlds, we classify people based on certain visible and invisible features or attributes that help define some criteria, e.g. gender, accent, age, social background, weight, skin color, sexual orientation, religion and nationality. After classification of these people to these clusters or groups, but we highlight or scale neutral, good , bad or worse characteristics to them. The information might be acquired from news, social media or reference articles creating a biasing model in our conscious, moreover often based on what something somebody has told us (childhood) play a significant part in how we engage with, and make decisions about, people we don’t even know.
A profound implications happens due to unconscious biases in our subconscious. Making key decisions about selecting the best candidate or optimal one, a promotion, or major and minor projects assignment, these subliminal thoughts add effects and feelings that have no basis in fact.
Scientific realization about factors effecting decisions or making us biased:
- “availability heuristic,” which makes us think something that’s easy to recall (because it’s emotional or because we’ve experienced it many times) is more common or probable than it really is
- “distinction bias,” which makes two options seem more different when considered simultaneously
- “denomination effect,” which makes us more likely to spend money when it’s in small bills or coins
- “Dunning-Kruger effect,” which makes experts underestimate their abilities and laypeople overestimate theirs