Reader's Digest

40 | July• 2018

BATTLING BIAS

maydismisstheseassimpleprefer-

ences but beneath those decisions

are often conscious or subconscious

negative associations about other

groups–prejudicesthatinthebig-

gerpicturereinforceinequalities.

One way to counteract implicit

bias is to increase your exposure to

positivemediafocusedonthegroup

that you’re making less-than-kind

judgments about. A 2013 study run

by UCLA’s Social and Identity Lab

revealed that watching a clip ofhe

Joy Luck ClubamovieaboutChinese

immigrants to the US induced empa-

thyinitsviewersandmadethemless

biased towards Asian-Americans.

And while some people may want

to claim that they don’t see stereo-

typesatallamorerealisticstrategy

is to accept that they exist but chal-

lengethembycomingupwithexam-

ples of people within a speciic group

whodefytheselabels.Ultimately

implicitbiasfunctionslikeahabit-

once you become aware of it you can

take steps to break it.

UsingtheskillsofhertradeLucasgot
toworkexaminingwhyshefeltthat
way and inding ways to address it.
Societyisfacingsomethinglikea
reckoningrecentlyasthenewscycle
is dominated by harrowing accounts
of racism sexism and homophobia
across the arts politics and many
otherfields.TheChallengingRac-
ismProject2015-16NationalSurvey
conductedbyWesternSydneyUni-
versityfoundthat61.1percentof
peoplefromaLOTE(languageother
than English) background experi-
encedeverydayracismscompared
with33.7percentofnon-LOTE
people. The most common setting
fortheseexperienceswasonpub-
lictransportwith75.5percentof
Asian respondents experiencing
race-based discrimination on buses
or trains as well as on the street.
Every individual has an obligation
to address the prejudices that live
within them. Here are some tips for
unravelling yours.

RECOGNISE AND REDIRECT

Iseveryonereallyracistastheac-
tivistontheradioclaims?According
to myriad psychologists the answer
is yes. Thanks to something known
as implicit bias research has shown
that it’s possible for you to dislike
theideaofprejudiceandstillactin
prejudiced ways. Consider the neigh-
bourhoods you choose to live or so-
cialiseinwhereyousendyourkids
to school or whom you befriend. You

“IT’S HUMAN NATURE

TO SAY‘OH THAT’S

JUST HOW I WORK’ ”

SAYS SOCIAL

WORKER AND FAMILY

THERAPIST JOE RICH