Are you biased?
My class right now deals with multicultural counseling and we have had to examine our personal biases and where they come from. Are they based on personal experiences, passed down from family, or socially based? I've had to create a genogram to examine my family's biases and I've found it very hard to think of my loved ones, or myself, as having biases. I guess I was equating biases with prejudices, which I now know are not the same thing. Anyway, I interviewed my dad about his biases and was completely shocked at his answers. They helped me understand myself better too.
So my challenge to you is this: Think about your biases. Where do they come from? Do those biases turn into prejudices? How do your biases influence your daily life? How do they manifest themselves? Do you think they're good or bad?
Here are some of the biases I've recognized in myself:
I am biased against people who become inactive in the church, but then look for reasons to stay inactive. They look for any reason to be offended and stay away. I think it's lame.
I'm biased against people who are so focused on their looks and fashion that they neglect their inner selves and the things that really matter in life. I pity them.
I'm biased towards people who, like my great-grandmother Celia and grandpa Storey, look for the best in others and constantly put others before themselves for the greater good of society.
I'm biased against men who think women can't, or shouldn't, work as hard as them. It really bothers me and I take it very personally.
Those are just a few. I can go on and on in different cultural aspects. Although it's been uncomfortable to examine myself and deeply rooted beliefs, I know it will help me be a better counselor as I grow in self awareness. I think accepting those biases, realizing that they're a part of you, and working on the ones that need work is the key. It's all part of the process of life, I guess.
5 comments:
That was really interesting Aly! This is just the kind of thing Samuel would love to talk about too-- I'm going to give it some thought. I appreciated what you had to say.
Quite thought provoking . . . it made me think back at a class that I had at BYU. It's great though to really get into parts of your attitudes and views that you never thought you had before! Thats always interesting to do . . . and sometimes quite a revelation.
For me: i'm biased on one thing for sure . . . my kids are the darndest cutest little buggars in the whole wide world . . . and that of course includes Eden and Avi!
I took a multi-cultural psychology class from a professor that was a Women and was from puertarician(or however you spell it) talk about an eye opener. We had to read this book called "The White Privilege" and she had us all realizing that we were conscientiously prejudice. It was really interesting to really examine the thought process and find things there that we don't even notice. Anyhow really interesting topic.
wow aly... you have always been very good to take a step back and think deeper than superficial thoughts and that is another reason that i love and admire you. it makes me want to be like you even more! :) question: what would qualify a bias not to be a prejudice? i'm still at the superficial level! anywho - i would love to see how your genogram turned out so i can learn too! love ya!
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