Morning Edition NPR/Renee Montagne, David Greene/Oct 17, 2016
Link: How The Concept Of Implicit Bias Came Into Being
This interesting segment from Morning Edition talks about implicit bias: what it is and how it affects our society. Mahzarin Banaji, who co-created the theory of implicit bias 20 years ago, talks with the hosts about how our brains, and what we see around us, inform our biases. She also states how we need to ask ourselves why we feel as we do about something. We need to explore our feelings and thoughts to understand our biases.
"At any moment when we discover things about ourselves or about the world that are new, we have to expect the kind of reaction that we're getting. But the mark of an evolved society is how quickly do we come to terms with it" Mahzarin Banaji.
Relevance: Bias is such a relevant topic, especially in these tumultuous times. Hatred, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia; all these seem to meet us at every turn. We need to teach our children better ways to think deep thoughts and ask hard questions.
Pat,
ReplyDeleteImplicit bias is an obviously occurring phenomenon and it is critical for individuals to recognize their biases. I really like the quote from Mahzarin Banaji that you used. I was taught that the first thing that goes through our minds is what society has taught us to think but the second thing is what truly defines us. I think we have a critical role for our students to teach them to explore the way they feel and recognize their biases. Great job!
I really enjoyed listening to this podcast. I remember learning about implicit bias in one of psychology classes and now with all the going ons in the world and media, as you mention above, it is important to be aware of it. As educators we talk about students with other teachers and have ideas of what to expect from certain cultures. This is a great reminder to consider our biases and try to improve our own ideas and beliefs and really make them non-influential from the media. Great post!
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