Hopefully after going through the previous lessons you have a general understanding of some of the biases we’ve covered. In review, here’s a summary of the information so far:
Lesson 1: What’s going on in our brains?
We all put ourselves into in-groups, and others into out-groups, and we are susceptible to a number of cognitive biases that are psychological processes and difficult to avoid. There are many reasons for this. Some are related to evolutionary psychology while some are related to identity and psychological development. The bottom line is: we all do it, and biases happen on a daily basis. There are ways we can combat these psychological processes, such as education, preventing the spread of misinformation, and generally becoming more informed about other people, other groups, and other cultures.
Lesson 2: “He’s the same as ‘them’…” – Implicit Association
We discard the specifics to form generalities, and we form those generalities based on a cognitive bias that is based on our implicit “understanding” or beliefs about a particular person and/or group. We see bunnies as bunnies, who can only do what bunnies do, and other animals do what they do.
Lesson 3: “They ARE all the same” – Outgroup homogeneity
Beyond the implicit associations we make, when putting individuals into a particular group, we also judge the out-group in a certain way. This cognitive bias describes how the out-group is “the same,” while members of the ingroup are more unique.
Lesson 4: “That Can’t be True” – Confirmation Bias
Information isn’t simply information we process it in certain ways based on our previously existing biases. Sometimes we use our “heads” and think rationally, and sometimes we judge with our “emotions” and look at things based on how we feel about a particular topic or group previously.