{"id":31734,"date":"2023-03-09T20:18:19","date_gmt":"2023-03-10T04:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=31734"},"modified":"2023-03-09T20:54:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-10T04:54:14","slug":"a-step-back-a-step-forward-and-a-commitment-to-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/a-step-back-a-step-forward-and-a-commitment-to-change\/","title":{"rendered":"A Step Back, A Step Forward, and a Commitment to Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe truth can be uncomfortable, but if we don\u2019t face reality [our] implicit biases will shape and transform our society in a way that we had never thought possible.\u201d[1]<\/a> I took some valuable steps backward and forward this week while reading Pragya Agarwal\u2019s book, Sway<\/em>, and emerged with new learnings and new commitments.<\/p>\n

Pragya Agarwal\u2019s Sway:<\/em> Unravelling Unconscious Bias<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pragya Agarwal, in her book, Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias<\/em>, brings together her own research on the human brain, behavior, society and psychology, along with the research of other experts to present a scientific explanation of why we act and think the way we do.[2]<\/a> Agarwal, a behavioral scientist, focuses on implicit bias, which she defines as \u201cthose biases that exist without our conscious knowledge, the ones that manifest themselves in our actions and reactions often without us realising it\u2026\u201d[3]<\/a> Though Agarwal notes this was a difficult book to write, as talking about discrimination and prejudice isn\u2019t easy, she emphasizes the importance of considering the ways in which our contemporary society shapes us, saying,<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is about understanding the way we put up walls between \u2018us\u2019 and \u2018them\u2019 before we even realise we are doing so, how we interpret the messages we get from the media and the politicians, and the attempts to make sense of the noise and understand how biases shape the way we react to these messages.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

She notes that we all carry unconscious bias. \u201cWe judge, we exclude people, we stereotype.\u201d[5]<\/a> We must raise awareness within ourselves and in our community as to why we act the way we do, so as to make clearer sense of who we are, who we want to be, and who we will become.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Taking a Step Back from the Text<\/strong><\/p>\n

After reading Agarwal\u2019s book, I took a step back to digest her message on implicit bias. My first thought was, \u201cGod, what have we done? We have come so far from what you intended for your people and your world. Help us. What are we to do?\u201d My next thought was, I need to continue working on myself. I want to be aware of my own prejudices and change the ways I think and act. And, in my position as a leader, I want to create safe places for people to see their biases and make positive changes, as well.<\/p>\n

I am thankful for family, friends, and colleagues who shine a light on my personal stereotypes so that I can see them. For example, an opportunity to see and unravel some unconscious biases came when my husband and I got married. We bumped into hidden prejudices we held around people from various political parties, cities, churches, and careers. We even had differing stereotypes toward people who shopped at different grocery stores. Because we got married after decades of living in different environments, our biases were embedded deeply in our being, making them hard to see and change. We have learned that we must change. In committing to learn and with the help of others, we can grow and see more clearly.<\/p>\n

Taking a Step into the Text<\/strong><\/p>\n

While reading Agarwal\u2019s book, I noticed that she brought attention several times to the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which was developed in 1998 by Anthony Greenwald at the University of Washington for the purpose of measuring automatic implicit associations.[7]<\/a> The test has been broadly used in the United States to show people their attitudes of which they were unaware.[8]<\/a> The IAT rang a bell for me. I dug into my materials at work and discovered that this is one of the tools we use to train our host home providers when they are preparing to house a high school student in our program. There is a problem with the test. Agarwal pointed out that the test \u201cfaced controversy in terms of what it measures and how reproduceable the results are.\u201d[9]<\/a> I did some further research to confirm this and found that many researchers feel the test needs additional scrutiny, as reliability has been shown to be \u201cpoor.\u201d[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

I am embarrassed to say that I did not more thoroughly investigate this tool, and because it is attached to a website which includes \u201cHarvard,\u201d I deemed it trustworthy, given Harvard University\u2019s strong academic reputation.[11]<\/a> This revealed some of my hidden biases. As the leader of our team, I am responsible to explore the validity of all materials used in our program, even if they come prepackaged with what I think is a \u201clegitimate\u201d label. I now can make a change in our training materials to provide more valuable resources regarding implicit bias for our home providers and team.<\/p>\n

Action Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having gained some important information through my reading of Sway<\/em> and in my contemplation of unconscious bias, I have some action steps to implement.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Make a concerted effort to identify my prejudices that sway my thinking and acting in negative ways. Invite knowledgeable individuals to point out the biases they see in me. Make changes.<\/li>\n
  2. Remove the IAT from our training materials at work and find new ways to discuss and learn about implicit bias with our team and home providers.<\/li>\n
  3. Research local experts in implicit bias. Invite them to train our team and home providers in further understanding the ways we think and act, so that we can make positive changes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I am thankful for Pragya Agarwal\u2019s message, which has challenged me to be more sensitive to implicit bias in my own life. I am also grateful for the insight I discovered in her book regarding the use of the IAT. I want to be aware of my own biases, make changes, and extend the opportunity for growth to my team. Together, may we contribute to creating a just and vibrant community for every person.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a> Pragya Agarwal, Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias<\/em> (New York, NY: Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020), 23.<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a> Agarwal, 15-16.<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a> Agarwal, 16.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> Agarwal, 22-23.<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a> Agarwal, 22.<\/p>\n

    [6]<\/a> Agarwal, 23.<\/p>\n

    [7]<\/a> Agarwal, 225.<\/p>\n

    [8]<\/a> Project Implicit, https:\/\/implicit.harvard.edu\/implicit\/education.html.<\/p>\n

    [9]<\/a> Agarwal, 225.<\/p>\n

    [10]<\/a> Craig Frisby, \u201cPrejudice Under the Microscope: The Implicit Association Test (Part II),\u201d Jan 13, 2021, https:\/\/www.mindingthecampus.org\/2021\/01\/13\/prejudice-under-the-microscope-the-implicit-association-test-part-ii\/<\/a>; and J. Sukhera, M. Wodzinski, M. Rehman, C.M. Gonzalez. \u201cThe Implicit Association Test in health professions education: A\u00a0meta-narrative review.\u201d Perspect Med Educ. 2019 Oct;8(5):267-275. doi: 10.1007\/s40037-019-00533-8. PMID: 31535290; PMCID: PMC6820611.<\/p>\n

    [11]<\/a> See https:\/\/implicit.harvard.edu\/implicit\/takeatest.html for a link to the IAT. It is unclear if the test is directly linked to the Harvard University website, as Project Implicit seems to be its own entity. More research is needed to determine the sponsoring source.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cThe truth can be uncomfortable, but if we don\u2019t face reality [our] implicit biases will shape and transform our society in a way that we had never thought possible.\u201d[1] I took some valuable steps backward and forward this week while reading Pragya Agarwal\u2019s book, Sway, and emerged with new learnings and new commitments. Pragya Agarwal\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"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-31734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-agarwal","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31734","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\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31734"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31740,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31734\/revisions\/31740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}