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Our Biased Brains

Vaughn Upshaw, EdD, DrPH upshaw@sog.unc.edu 919.966.9982

Today’s questions

•  What? Me biased?

•  What types of bias affect our thinking?

•  Why do we need to be aware of and disciplined about bias as leaders?

WHAT? ME BIASED?

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What colors do you see?

WHAT ARE TYPES OF BIAS?

Three Influences on Your Brain

Automatic

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Amygdalae

…for example…!

Some Mental Exercises

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Pick a Card

Where is Your Card?

Who Are They?

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Now Read This

I cnnoat blveiee I aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I am rdanieg. Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Read the Word

Say the Color of the Word

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THE MONKEY BUSINESS ILLUSION

It may be automatic, but is it safe?

Recap-Automatic Processing

•  Allows us to make quick decisions

•  Takes in selective data •  Quickly fills in gaps •  Becomes easily over

stimulated •  Struggles to multi task

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Three Influences on Your Brain

Heuristics

Heuristics

•  Mental shortcuts that allow individuals to solve problems and make decisions/judgments quickly and efficiently.

Availability Heuristic

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Representativeness Heuristic

How Long is the Mississippi?

Anchoring Heuristic

•  Influences the way people intuitively assess probabilities.

•  Starting with an implicitly suggested reference point (the "anchor") people make adjustments to the anchor to reach their estimate.

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“Just World” Heuristic

Three Influences on Your Brain

Classif

icatio

n

Categorizing and Generalizing

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WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Explicit Bias

!  Consciously aware of explicit bias

!  We can conceal or hide explicit bias in order to appear more socially/politically correct

Stereotypes can make life simpler

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Primal Urge

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In-Group and Out-Group

Classification

This is especially true when the “them” is large & the stereotype negative

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Alarming!

Implicit Bias

•  Operates outside of our awareness

•  Describes a preference for a group based on implicit attitudes, stereotypes, etc.

•  How do we know it exists if we are unaware of it?

How Do We Know It Exists?

•  Implicit Association Test (IAT)

•  Validated measurement

•  Links to neuroscience on how our brains work

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FMRI

Our brain response is real

Implications

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The Dilemma

Public officials have human brains, hard-wired to make rapid decisions making survival more likely . .

. . . But fairness requires a brain more concerned with accuracy than survival.

An Ocean of Bias

WHAT IS A LEADER TO DO?

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Can It Be Controlled?

•  First, we need to think about how we think •  Also known as “meta-cognition”

Your brain is more automatic when. . .

•  You’re in a hurry

•  You’re tired

•  You’re upset

•  You’re stressed

•  You’re angry

Check your thinking

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Strategies to Reduce Implicit Bias

•  First things first…

•  Educate yourself and others to increase your own (and others’) awareness that bias exists.

•  Five strategies

Stereotype Replacement

Counter-stereotypic imaging

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Individuating

Perspective taking

Increase contact

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Avoid using your “autopilot”

Know Thyself

γνῶθι σεαυτόν

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Walking is automatic.

Final Exam

A man and his teenaged son went fishing for the day. On the way home they had a terrible accident.

The father was killed and the son was seriously injured.

When the son arrived in the emergency room, the doctor looked down at the boy and said, “Oh no! This is my son!”

How can this be?

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A few references…