Helpful Questions to See Our Bias
“Did you really write this?”
During my college humanities class on “Fairy Tales,” the professor posed this question to me. I was taking her class as part of my English Literature degree, but I had to request an extension on a paper due to an upcoming collegiate football game I was traveling for and had just turned it in.
In response to her question, I assured her that the paper was my own work. She asked me again, “Are you sure you wrote this?” Puzzled, I asked why she thought I would lie. She responded, “Well, the paper is quite good, and I know you’re a football player, so I had to ask.”
I was shocked at her response. Not only did she have a bias against a collegiate football player being smart enough to write a competent paper (an implicit bias), but she was aware enough of her bias to verbalize it to me in that moment (an explicit bias).
Unsure of what to do next, I went to my English Literature advisor. He knew this professor and it wasn’t the first time she had shown implicit or explicit bias towards a student. He recommended that I print out every paper I had written for him in his classes (which was quite a few) and put them on her desk with a letter of recommendation from him as to my writing ability. I asked if he’d let me use his printer code since I was a broke college student, and he agreed.
The feeling of satisfaction I felt when I saw her face look at the pile of papers I had written for my English degree was priceless, but the feeling of being discriminated against because of a stereotype has also stayed with me. I’m also aware that as a white man in a dominant white, male culture, this is one of the few stories I had of bias negatively impacting me. I am sure I have experienced many opportunities because of bias that have been to my advantage, as opposed to this one story of it working to my disadvantage.
What is the difference between explicit and implicit bias and the ethical ramifications and implications of these biases in our world today? Dr. Argawal’s book seeks to understand and unpack these terms that have become quite prevalent in the last decade in Western culture, and wrestle with social and racial biases that are continuing to generate inequality and injustice in our world. This was a helpful read, and it was impactful to remember that each of us has biases based on various factors. In her book she writes, “So really the answer is to go to the roots, to understand the processes that shape us, to be aware, to acknowledge that we are all biased – to a certain degree – and that we all discriminate.”
Recently our family went to Clear Lake, California for spring break to stay at a Worldmark resort that our parents were letting us borrow. Living in Oregon and only visiting California occasionally (mostly the more affluent or tourist-y parts of LA and San Diego area) we had developed some ideas about what California was actually like. We were surprised when we arrived at a beautiful lake in California to a beautiful resort, but the surrounding area was covered with indications of lower-income housing and an economically depressed area. Since some of our kids are teenagers, we started processing some of these things we were observing with them. Some of the questions we asked were:
“Why are we surprised by what we are seeing?” (This reveals some biases based on expectations from our previous experiences)
“What are we actually seeing and what does that tell us about life here?” (This attempts to take a more exploratory approach and gather data before making judgments about a people or community based on bias)
“Who are the people we are interacting with? What do we have in common? How are we different? What can we learn from them?” (This set of questions, while still containing a bias reference point, helps us to look for connections with people different from us and still see goodness and value in our interactions with them.)
“What is the history of this place and these people?” (Understanding what these communities and peoples have gone through develop understanding, connection and empathy)
Argawal writes that, ” if we start becoming more aware of our unconscious bias and what triggers when we are most vulnerable to it, we will become more attuned to the consequences of externalising our unconscious biases in the form of behavioural outcomes. And if we actively exercise strategies to mitigate and counter our unconscious biases, we can hopefully finally put a dent in them.”
As we asked ourselves these questions, we focused less on the differences that cause us to cast judgment based on our implicit bias, and instead, go to the roots of our expectations and then helped us to see this new place, although different from what we expected, as beautiful and special in its own unique way. We walked away with a deeper appreciation for the people and our time there and a better understanding of some of the cultural, economic and socio-historical factors of Northern California.
Dr. Argawal’s book can help us become aware of some of our implicit biases and seek to be transformed by that knowledge into people who are reflective, empathetic and can think critically in age of unrest and confusion.
About the Author
Ryan Thorson
Follower of Jesus. Husband. Father. Pastor. Coach. I am passionate about helping people discover the gift of Sabbath and slow down spirituality in the context of our busy world.6 responses to “Helpful Questions to See Our Bias”
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Hi Ryan, Thank you for sharing your experience in Northern California. I admire the way you engaged your children throughout the journey. As you navigated this experience with them, did you notice any shifts in your own thinking?
Ryan, thanks for your blog. I appreciate the personal experiences. I am also curious about your current leadership challenges. What are some of the implicit biases you have identified in your church context? How might you debias those?
Ryan,
I miss northern California. Such a beautiful place and from what I remember, clear lake is actually not that clear.
You asked some great questions to reflect on with your family. What were some of their takeaways? Was there a “big picture” lesson learned?
Ryan, I loved the personal story you gave! That is an excellent example of implicit and external biases. I’m curious how that college experience affected your awareness of your biases as you have established yourself as an adult? What new thoughts or ideas did “Sway” present to you?
Hi Ryan, what great family questions. Thanks for sharing them. Do you see implicit bias impacting your ministry work? If so, how and what type of response might it trigger?
Good stories Ryan. They definitely illustrate how we carry our biases around with us, usually (though not always) without being aware of them (unconscious or implicit).
In a general sense, what ways do you think increased awareness of our biases can lead to meaningful change in our interactions with others? How might greater awareness of our biases improve our leadership? Our church leadership, specifically?