Introduction
Available scholarship in cognitive and motivational psychology shows that people are naturally predisposed to demonstrate a multiplicity of biases and prejudices in not only judging and deciding who they relate to in social relationships but also in attempting to safeguard the status quo (Johnson & Levin, 2009). Biases originating from our conscious and unconscious thoughts have been associated with adverse outcomes, such as poor decision making, poor social relationships, and stereotypical perceptions of others (Elashi & Mills, 2015). This paper responds to Verna Myers’ talk on the issue of biases and how they should be conquered.
Response
The video provides useful insights on how individuals can overcome their personal biases by willing to change themselves from within three simple steps. The first step advocated by the speaker is to get out of self-denial by looking at people from the perspective of who they are, rather than what we have been taught or cultured to think about them. Here, Myers (2014) raises pertinent issues on how people are fixated by their personal, cognitive, and cultural biases to associate black images with negative things and white images with positive things.
Upon reflection, it is clear that the notion of resetting our automatic associations with color is a good strategy in ensuring that people no longer use their conscious and unconscious thoughts to stereotype or prejudice others based on subjective evaluations. According to Myers (2013), such stereotypes are often overgeneralized and largely inaccurate.
The second step advocated by Myers (2014) is to move closer to those who are biased against the view of knowing and understanding them better. This component, in my view, is an excellent approach to reducing racial-based biases and prejudices in the United States. The component underscores the point that people tend to develop biased beliefs about others because they have been socially cultured to avoid and be afraid of them.
However, when people are encouraged to seek authentic relationships with their neighbors and countrymen, it is possible to avoid the stereotypes and prejudices that threaten to destroy the social fabric. This view is supported by Myer (2013), who uses the social identity theory to demonstrate how the “we” component of our self- or group-concept makes us develop prejudiced beliefs about others. According to the video, we tend to favor our groups and prejudice others due to misinformation and limited knowledge.
Lastly, Myers (2014) shows how our inability to question the status quo has led to the development and internalization of biases in society. Here, the speaker proposes that we must develop the courage to say something even to the people we hold dearly and cherish. The available literature is consistent in that most types of psychological biases are embedded in our conscious or unconscious predisposition to protect the status quo (Johnson & Levin, 2009).
According to Myers (2009), stereotypes and prejudices can be entrenched by people interested in maintaining the existing social order through the social dominance perspective. As such, the proposal provided by the speaker may be effective in ensuring that we do not continue to prejudice or stereotype others based on the existing social order or status quo.
Conclusion
Overall, the video provides practical steps that could be taken to conquer our personal biases and prejudices. The most important lesson is to evaluate ourselves from within so that we can view others with a more objective lens and develop authentic relationships that are likely to reduce biases, stereotypes, and prejudices.
References
Elashi, F.B., & Mills, C.M. (2015). Developing the bias blind spot: Increasing skepticism toward others. PLoS ONE, 10(10), 1-11. Web.
Johnson, D., & Levin, S. (2009). The tragedy of cognition: Psychological biases and environmental inaction. Current Science, 97, 1593-1603. Web.
Myers, D. (2013). Social psychology (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Myers, V. (2014). How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them. Web.