In her book, \u201cSway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias,\u201d Pragya Agarwal, a behavioral scientist and freelance journalist, tries to show that we all have unintentional biases that effects how we perceive the world and therefore how we act and communicate. Her book was published in 2020 and contains twelve chapters in four sections. She states the purpose of her research: \u201cIn this book I am looking primarily at examples where a bias is misdirected and creates prejudice and discriminatory behavior through a negative association with a certain group of community\u201d (p. 13). In an ever-interconnected world where different cultures and beliefs must regular interact, the book is extremely timely. In light of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States and elsewhere, the book\u2019s message will go a long way in giving people a deeper understanding of how biased an individual can be\u2014even when we are careful not to be.<\/p>\n
Chapter one introduces to us how our minds have evolved to work quickly and to protect ourselves. Turns out, we have instincts for a very good reason. Agarwal argues, \u201cWe pick out bits of information that help us make quick decisions.\u201d (p. 31). But therein lies the difficulty. When we think quickly (instinctually), we usually simplify a thing and miss a deeper truth lying just below the surface. I found this line of thinking similar to Daniel Kahneman\u2019s, Thinking Fast and Slow.<\/em> The same bias is pointed out and the ramifications for us are elaborated by both authors. Fortunately, being aware of this mental dynamic is the first step to catching ourselves from falling prey to the negative side of this trait. Kathyrn Shulz in her book, Being Wrong<\/em> (from last semester) also echoed this tendency. The key is awareness–but this cannot be done in a situation of panic or crises. The awareness leads to careful analysis and logical evaluation and that takes time. Often times the pace of this world\u2014ministry, business, school\u2014does not easily allow for thoughtful reflection. One must be committed to taking the time.<\/p>\n Chapter two was insightful because Agarwal goes in depth to explain the three theories that evolutionary psychologists have accounted for our implicit biases. This type of thorough research separated her book from the hundreds of other books out in popular culture that repeat the mantra, \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be biased, we really shouldn\u2019t be prejudiced.\u201d Her expertise in this field shows through and it reminded me of Lieberman\u2019s, The Molecule of More<\/em>. An argument is always bolstered when hard science backs it up.<\/p>\n Chapter five is entitled, \u201cBobbsey Twins\u201d and it discusses at length that, \u201cPeople want to be with people like themselves.\u201d This human trait does not go away with you but sticks with us throughout adulthood. This strong tendency struck me as critical with far reaching ramifications. Agarwal states, \u201cPeople believe what they want to believe. People accept things on the grapevine that align with their world-view (p.180). This became so clear to me with Donald Trump\u2019s election and his supporters who ate up his rhetoric during his presidency. It leaves one feeling hopeless at times.<\/p>\n The book ends on a positive note with an epilogue entitled \u201cDe-biasing 101.\u201d Even though it is only five pages, the remedies she discusses are simple yet they ring true. Creating safe spaces to work, the importance of role models, and understanding your own upbringing all go a long way in minimizing your own biases. This led me to consider my own experiences, education, and employment. We are constantly being shaped, every day. That cannot be helped. The goal is to invite Christ into our daily journey and ask him to shape us, to see the world as it really is and to treat all people with justice and respect. The best anti-bias program I have ever come across is when someone invites Jesus into their human heart and lets Him mold and shape it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In her book, \u201cSway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias,\u201d Pragya Agarwal, a behavioral scientist and freelance journalist, tries to show that we all have unintentional biases that effects how we perceive the world and therefore how we act and communicate. Her book was published in 2020 and contains twelve chapters in four sections. She states the purpose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2244],"class_list":["post-28348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-agarwal","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/150"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28349,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28348\/revisions\/28349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}