The world we perceive: recognising and understanding our potential for bias

By Bonita Sadie

“Everyone is a prisoner of his own experience. No one can eliminate prejudices — just recognise them.”— Edward R. Murrow

Human perception is a complex and multifaceted process, shaped by an intricate interplay of cognitive, social, and cultural factors. In this blog post we delve into the pervasive influence of biases on our interpretation of the world around us. Biases, both conscious and unconscious, can significantly affect our judgments, decisions, and interactions. They stem from a variety of sources, including our upbringing, experiences, and societal norms, and they often operate subtly, without our awareness.

Recognising the potential for bias is the first step towards mitigating it. Our interpretation of information is consistently filtered through our conscious and unconscious biases. These distortions, which Steve Jobs referred to as our “reality distortion fields,” develop over time as we grow up within our families, communities, cultures, and societies. No one is exempt from biases; they are an intrinsic part of the human condition. As such, our perception of reality is influenced by a cognitive lag, which refers to the delay between the reception of information and our conscious awareness and processing of that information. This lag can cause us to react to outdated or incomplete information using a framework that supports our own world view, thereby influencing our judgments and decisions. By acknowledging and addressing our biases, we can navigate the complexities of human perception with greater mindfulness and accuracy.

Biases are formed through various mechanisms, often starting from an early age. Several factors play significant roles in the formation of biases:

1. Cultural influence: Cultural norms, beliefs, and values provide a framework for interpreting experiences and information. These cultural elements guide expectations about “appropriate” thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, shaping our biases.
2. Socialisation: Family, friends, and community significantly impact our world-view. The beliefs and attitudes we are exposed to in our formative years often become ingrained, influencing our biases.
3. Institutional influences: Schools and universities play a crucial role in shaping our perceptions and biases through the curricula and social environments they provide.
4. Religious affiliations: Religious beliefs and practices can significantly shape our world-view and contribute to the development of biases.
5. Media exposure: The media we consume plays a crucial role in shaping our perceptions and biases. Repeated exposure to certain narratives or stereotypes can reinforce biased thinking.
6. Personal experiences: Our personal experiences, both positive and negative, contribute to the development of biases. These experiences shape our expectations and influence our judgments.

By understanding these factors, we can begin to see how biases are deeply embedded in our cognitive processes. Addressing these biases requires a commitment to self-awareness, education, and ongoing reflection.

In the following sections, we will delve deeper into the types of biases that commonly affect human thinking and explore strategies for mitigating and correcting them, aiming to foster a more objective and inclusive approach to our interactions and decision-making processes.

Common human biases and their implications

1. Confirmation bias: The tendency to search for, interpret, favour, and recall information that confirms one’s pre-existing beliefs or hypotheses. This bias can lead to echo chambers where dissenting opinions are ignored.
2. Availability heuristic: A mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples to evaluate a specific topic. This bias can skew our perception of reality by overemphasizing recent or memorable events.
3. Hindsight bias: The inclination to see events that have already occurred as being more predictable than they were before they took place. This bias can lead to false confidence and distorted recollections.
4. Anchoring Bias: The tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions. This can result in skewed judgments based on initial impressions.
5. Self-Serving bias: The tendency to attribute positive events to one’s character while attributing negative events to external factors. This preserves self-esteem but can hinder personal growth and accountability.
6. Fundamental attribution error: The tendency to underestimate situational factors and overestimate personal traits when evaluating others’ behaviour. This can lead to unfair judgments and misunderstandings.
7. Optimism bias: The belief that positive outcomes are more likely than negative ones. This bias can result in unrealistic expectations and inadequate risk assessment.
8. Bandwagon effect: The tendency to adopt beliefs because many others hold them, leading to conformity and groupthink.
9. Halo effect: The phenomenon where the perception of one quality of a person influences the perception of other qualities, often leading to overgeneralizations.

Strategies to mitigate and correct biases

1. Awareness and education: Increasing awareness about biases and their impact is the first step in addressing them. Education and training programmes can help individuals recognise and understand their biases.
2. Diverse perspectives: Exposing oneself to diverse perspectives and experiences can challenge existing biases and broaden understanding. Engaging with diverse cultures, opinions, and backgrounds can reduce the influence of biases.
3. Mindfulness and reflection: Practicing mindfulness and reflective thinking can help individuals become more aware of their biases. Taking the time to reflect on one’s thought processes and decisions can promote more objective thinking.
4. Critical thinking: Developing critical thinking skills can help individuals evaluate information more objectively. Questioning assumptions, seeking evidence, and considering alternative viewpoints, are essential components of critical thinking.
5. Feedback and accountability: Encouraging feedback from others and holding oneself accountable for biased thinking can foster personal growth. Constructive criticism and accountability can help correct biased behaviours.
6. Inclusive practices: Implementing inclusive practices in various settings, such as workplaces and educational institutions, can promote fairness and reduce the impact of biases. Creating environments that value diversity and inclusion can mitigate biases.

Understanding the mechanisms and implications of biases is crucial for fostering more objective and equitable perspectives. We must strive to minimise biases in our personal and professional lives. Objectivity is an illusion, “the truth” a social construct, and cultural sensitivity a responsibility we must all uphold. Through awareness, education, and inclusive practices, we can mitigate the effects of biases, contributing to a more equitable and understanding society.

Understanding human biases, both our own and those of others, forms the bedrock of emotional intelligence. This allows us to collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds, avoiding unnecessary offenses, and improving our interpersonal skills and social maturity in various contexts.

In the next blog series, we will explore the importance of intertwined intelligence, namely EQ and IQ, in personal, social, and professional landscapes. The blog will examine how both emotions and intelligence play an integral part in achieving a well-rounded, fulfilling, and successful life. Embracing and nurturing both aspects of intelligence can help us become not just smarter, but also wiser and more empathetic individuals.

If you would like to join our community and contribute articles such as the one above, please follow this link

Find out more about Bonita: