What Are Your Biases?
Recently I’ve been pondering the idea of cognitive bias: the concept that our behaviors are dictated by the reality we manufacture on a subjective level as opposed to objective. While our biases can serve us at times, I’ve been thinking about how they cause problems due to our failure to make rational decisions. I personally am frustrated with how much the media is highlighting the polarization of our country. The depiction that there are two opposite sides posed against one another, and how it appears that you have to make a choice to be on one side or the other. I believe that while there are indeed people at the far ends of the spectrum, most people understand that these issues are far from black and white and find themselves somewhere in the middle. My concern is that we are getting pulled to one side or the other because of our cognitive biases.
In a Master Class done by astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, he says, “One of the great challenges in this world is knowing enough about a subject to think you’re right, but not enough about the subject to know you’re wrong”. I worry that our reliance on short term results and desire for the “quick fix” has caused us to be lazy and take things we hear at face value without doing any research or critical thinking. How many times do you hear something from someone else and automatically take it as truth without asking questions? We should be curious about that information and ask questions that lead us to a better understanding of what people are saying. In our conversations we already spend an inordinate amount of our time trying to convince the other person of our point of view. This is a way of self-preservation, because we feel better about ourselves when others agree with us and when they don’t, we tend to think less of them (in an attempt to justify our position and elevate ourselves). But what if we could have conversations that hold space for disagreement and non-judgement? Conversations without cognitive bias.
Another thing that pulls us to the opposite ends of the spectrum is that when we do some research, we tend to succumb to confirmation bias: looking only for information that supports our beliefs. As I look at my own life, I’m guilty of this when I think about the books I read, what I watch, who I listen to and what I search for on the internet. I tend to seek information that will enhance what I already think instead of viewpoints that challenge my position on a given topic. Yet when I reflect on my learning, I have grown the most when I have explored the unfamiliar. It may not always change my mind, but it gives me a better understanding of the topic or issue.
As leaders we have to be aware of our own biases. We must be willing to challenge our assumptions from time to time with data, information and knowledge that doesn’t always support our beliefs. If we encourage understanding, learning and questions over the need to be right or convince someone else, we can create environments that are more healthy and build teams that are excited to work together. I’m challenging myself to do better in this area and I hope you will consider doing the same.
Check out this infographic from the Visual Capitalist to see more about cognitive bias.