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27 October, 1998 - A Bent Of Mind
In this "Inner Mind Update" we want to highlight some interesting information about perceptions and bias--mechanisms through which each of us filters our view of the world. (And you can even test yourself at the Yale referral site at the end of this article).
The classic book titled Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception, by Daniel Goleman, Simon & Schuster, 1985, analyzes important ways we deceive ourselves for good and ill. We can skew our intimate relationships, our lives, and our common reality as a result of our unconscious lies to ourselves and to others.
The book parallels understanding we have gained using The Cameron Method in our research. We are all unconsciously driven or motivated in our lives over different issues.
Regarding deception on a larger societal scale, there is interesting research presented in a new book titled Myth, Memory and the Legacy of Vietnam by Jerry Lembeke. He is a Vietnam veteran who served with the 41st Artillery Group during that war and now teaches sociology at Holy Cross College.
His focus is on the oft told story that returning Vietnam vets were spat upon by anti-war demonstrators. However, the author found in researching all the documentary evidence of the time that there was no such incident. The first visual image was in the mid-1980s in a GI Joe comic book--long after the war was over.
The story of returning soldiers being spat upon by less than patriotic countrymen also emerged in post-world War 1 Germany with the leaders asserting that German soldiers had been betrayed. It also appeared in France after the collapse of that country's Indochinese empire. It provided a useful distraction for losses.
Our minds mold through our biases, our past perceptions and judgments what we currently see in our world.
Two other interesting examples of mindset bias in reporting have been told about Presidents Clinton and Bush. First, it was reported that President Bush (while he was President) exclaimed that a checkout scanner was amazing. This news story indicated that the man was obviously totally out of touch with what was commonplace in an average person's life.
The second story was a news report that President Clinton had Air Force 1 block traffic at L.A.X while he was having a haircut on the plane.
There was a great deal of fuss about both stories. And both, it later turned out, were false. Each was based on a little truth. President Bush did exclaim over an advanced version of a scanner, and President Clinton had landed at L.A.X. but there was no interference with traffic.
Though these stories demonstrate bias in the media, we are all vulnerable to making decisions based on our unconscious prejudices.
In a recent study prospective jurors were asked how much bias they felt they would have in judging different groups. On average, only 5% believed they would be unable to be free from bias about Blacks, Asians, or Hispanics. However, if the defendant were Gay or Lesbian, the bias index jumped to 17%. 17% felt they would have an innate belief that the defendant was guilty if he or she were homosexual. It is sad to realize that this group of people is three times more likely to be misjudged on the basis of their sexual identity.
On this same issue, we noticed a certain bias in the news about the story of Mathew Shephard, the young homosexual student who was beaten to death by two men in Wyoming.
We noted in the first news article we read that Mathew had been living in Switzerland, spoke Italian and German and hoped to become a diplomat. He was also 5 feet 2 inches tall and wore braces.
It was the last we read or heard for a long time that the young man was this size and appearance. Yet, it was repeated over and over that he was beaten to death after he had "flirted with his killers." It was as if this might explain or justify it. And you know it does that for some people.
Finally, we found in the news recently that researchers Dr. Anthony Greenwald of the U. of Washington and Dr. Mahzarin Banaji of Yale, have developed an Implicit Association Test. This test measures unconscious bias.
It is a way to see your own mind's biases in action... especially interesting if you think you are unbiased! (You can test yourself on-line at http://www.yale.edu/implicit). Banji said, "We like to think of it as an unconsciousness-raising tool, for increasing awareness or self-analysis."
Look into your own mind. Just a little twist can take us to a different point of view. We can justify anything if we want to--especially if that person is part of some "other" group.
Let's free ourselves of some of our negative subconscious biases now. Repeat each Releasing statement until you can say it easily.
Have an unbiased, relaxed day!
Sharon and Clark Cameron
The Cameron Group
Helping People Create Attitudes That Work For Them
"Attitude makes all the difference!"
(Email)
Cameron@CompuMind.com
(Web) http://www.compumind.com/
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Copyright 1998 The Cameron Group, All Rights Reserved.