Managing Your Biases

We all have our opinions, attitudes, judgments, and strong feelings about all sorts of things. These are our biases. This comes from our experiences mostly. We develop preferences and strong biases because our experiences tell us that we are right, and we have the life experience to prove it. Then our biases become something closer to beliefs and certainties. Our biases inform our politics, our values, and viewpoints. There is nothing inherently wrong with biases, we all have them, and they are formed from direct experience, the challenge is to become aware of them. Our biases limit our ability to see clearly and to be objective. Our biases prevent us from seeing the whole picture. But we can’t just get rid of them, nor would we want to. So, the best option we have is to manage them.

How do you manage your biases then? Here are a few strategies that have helped me.

Awareness is Key

What are your biases? Do you know? It’s like trying to look at the back of your head. You need a mirror to do that. The first step to recognizing your biases is to pay attention to what you feel strongly about and when you disagree with others. What irritates you? What makes you angry? When do you feel righteous indignation? What are you proud of? What do you love? All of these indicate a strong bias toward something. Maybe it bothers you when someone drives too fast, even when it doesn’t personally affect you. Or you feel angry about certain political decisions being made. Perhaps you feel very proud of your community or church or your country. Maybe you love animals, or growing organic foods, or good craft beer. Examining these things by asking good questions can show you where you have biases and where you have biases, you will also have blind spots. It is important to identify exactly what you are biased toward and against. You will know just how biased you are by how uncomfortable you feel having your position effectively challenged or how reluctant you are to understand the other side.

Some examples of common biases connected to politics.

We should take care of the earth by recycling. /Recycling is propaganda and doesn’t help the earth. 
Gun rights are important for freedom. /We should have gun control to protect people from those who would abuse them. 
Religion is necessary for societies to thrive. /Religion is archaic and outdated.  
Police should be very limited in their power. /Strong police force creates safer communities. 
Animals should have the same basic rights as humans. /Animals are not the same as humans.
Healthcare for everyone is a right./Healthcare should be privatized. 
All drugs should be made legal/There should be stronger penalties for drug offenders. 
The death penalty is necessary for a safe society. /Killing others is wrong regardless of the crime. 

On a lighter note, here are some simpler examples.

Summer is a better season than winter. /Winter is much better than summer. 
Watermelon is a boring fruit./Watermelon is the reason for living. 
You should remove your shoes before entering a home./Who cares if you wear shoes in the house?
You shouldn’t watch TV in the morning./TV should be enjoyed at any time during the day or night. 
There are no bad dogs, only bad owners./There are definitely bad dogs and bad owners.
Couples should not use the bathroom together./Couples who share everything are comfortable with each other. 
Art is more important than science./Without science art could not be appreciated.  
Pets should not be a replacement for children./Pets are sometimes a necessary replacement for children, such as infertility. 
Valentine’s Day should not be a holiday./There should be a holiday that celebrates love and romance. 

Letting Go of Right and Wrong

The second thing that I have found essential in managing my biases is letting go of the lens of right and wrong. Just for a few minutes. When you lower that perception of right and wrong, it doesn’t make something less right or wrong morally speaking, it simply means you are widening your perspective by letting that go of right and wrong, for the time being. Once you are observing the bias without seeing it as right or wrong, you have a lot more information available to you. You might find letting go of the right and wrong lens to be quite difficult. You may find yourself arguing your point to yourself, resisting the opening of your mind. This is good. Allow yourself this experience and keep going until you have exhausted all your arguments. Now it is time to conduct an experiment.

A Thought Experiment

One of the best ways to open your mind and examine your biases is to try this thought experiment. I will use a hypothetical situation as an example.

Opinion #1: Public school teachers should get paid more money.
Opinion #2 Public school teachers should only be paid on merit.

It doesn’t matter which of these two opinions you feel more strongly about only that you feel strongly about one of them. Or look to the list above for other examples so you can find your own bias or opinion. Once you have your opinion look at the opposing side and ask yourself this question: What would it take for me personally to feel that strongly about the opposing viewpoint?

Let’s say you think public school teachers are mistreated by the system and get abysmal pay for their contribution to our children and their education. What would it take for you to personally feel that public school teachers should only be paid by merit?

Imagine you had a terrible teacher, that didn’t care about you or your education. Perhaps this teacher even picked on you and bullied you a little. You complained to the school, and nothing was done about it because this teacher couldn’t be fired. Can you imagine now what it would take for you to feel differently than you do?

Let’s say you think the public school system is a disaster and should be privatized or teachers should at least earn their pay through merit alone. What would it take for you to feel passionate about the other side of the issue? Imagine you are yourself a public-school teacher who loves children and wants to make difference in the lives of young people. You pour your heart and soul into your classroom and kids, but you can barely make enough money to pay the bills at home and you end up spending too much money on classroom supplies that the school doesn’t have funding for. If only teachers were given more money, they could be more effective teachers.

Imagining scenarios where you would feel strongly about the opposite of your personal views can be hard to do at first but the more you get into it, the more fun it becomes. Especially if you don’t take it too personally. Try it. I think you’ll find it a mind expanding exercise.