Bias, Stereotypes and Trust

How biases and stereotypes impact trust and how we can help make our workplaces more respectful and diverse.

I am going to share with you an article about some research that was done on middle school kids regarding stereotypes and trust. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/sfri-fyo020117.php
 Kids, and people, notice when they aren’t being treated fairly and if happens repeatedly they lose trust in authority – for good reason.

"Youth of color enter middle school aware that majority groups could view them stereotypically," notes Valerie Purdie-Vaughns, associate professor of psychology at Columbia University, who coauthored the study. "But when teachers surprise them with an early experience that conveys that they are not being seen in terms of stereotypes, but rather respected, it creates trust and may set in motion a positive cycle of expectations."

The actionable intelligence for teachers is that going out of your way to express trust and that you don’t see them as a stereotype goes a LONG way towards establishing trust and that kids who experience social trust, have fewer problems.

The reason this is important to managers in the workplace is because, at some point, these kids grow up and enter the workforce. The same dynamics at play in the classroom exist in the workplace.

The big difference is that the biases are more ingrained at this point. Both on the part of the majority group seeing people stereotypically and on the part of minority groups who have spent their lives dealing with people who don’t respect them as fully human individuals.

It isn’t enough to talk a good talk about diversity.  If it were, we wouldn’t continue to have diversity problems.

In order to overcome these built in biases, we have to be proactive.  We have to go out of our way to recruit a diverse workforce. We have to go out of our way to express trust and respect. We have to go out of our way to build the relationships on which trust is built.

It isn’t enough to recruit in a diverse set of people. If they are not welcomed and respected and trusted, you will have problems in the workplace.

Fortunately, you can take proactive steps. Among those is learning about how implicit bias effects your decision making so that just maybe we can start hiring more truly diverse work forces. And we can also get training in how behaviors and corporate cultures are changed so that all of your staff can do a better job of making people feel like respected members of the team. And finally, training on how to stop harassment and bullying in the workplace, because seriously, there is nothing that screams disrespect more than being targeted by a bully and having your employer not do anything about it.

To learn more about how to help check out these courses:

• Unconvering & Controlling Your Hidden Biases - Free
• Ending Harassment & Retaliation in the Workplace - $35
• Bridging the Generation Divide - $35

Don’t Judge

Image: Boaz Yiftach / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We have new neighbors just across the street from us. I happen to live in a rather tight knit community. We know just about everyone and it’s one of those communities where we all wave, and stop to chat with one another while out for walks. Anyway, my next door neighbor was very suspicious of these new folks because there seemed to be a lot of young men on bicycles wandering in and out of this house. So he called the cops and asked them to keep an eye on the house, which they said they’d do.

Today, my son and I came home from the store to see a little girl about his age riding a bike on the street in front of the house. Of course he wanted to introduce himself, so as soon as the groceries were put away, we went over.  Turns out this is a nice family that just moved in. I met the grandpa too. They are museum goers and have a teenage son who has a friend hang out with him. His biggest concern was that 2 days after they moved in, they got an alert from the state sex offenders list saying a sex offender moved in a couple of houses down from us (the offender must be a relative of the nice older couple that lives in that house) and he was wondering if it was a boarding house or something. He was under the impression that our neighborhood wasn’t very safe, so they were thinking about moving.  

Needless to say, these folks are regular law abiding folks just trying to raise a family in a safe neighborhood. And my other neighbor thought they just didn’t look right and might have been a threat. What is really funny is that these new folks are A LOT like the neighbor that called the cops to keep an eye on the new folks.

The point is that while it’s good to be cautious, always take the time to find out if your suspicions are valid. After all, when I first moved into the neighborhood, my stalker hired a private detective to find me and that caused all my new neighbors to think I was a low life engaged in a medical fraud. We laugh about that now because, it turns out, I’m rather nice.

So don’t judge people. (And yes, I am going to check the offenders list right after I get this post done)

Don't Label Me Dude

One of the things I like about Humanism is that it encourages us to respect every person we meet as the individuals they are. Which to me means don't assume you know who a person is just because of some assumed affiliation you think they hold.  When you do that you generalize. And besides, we all know what happens when we make assumptions. We not only make an ass out of ourselves, we are usually wrong.

I bring this up because on Google+ I was just accused by a guy I don't know of equating Humanism with Atheism. For those of you who know me and have read my book, seen my videos or heard me talk, you know that is something I have NEVER done. In fact, I've written pretty extensively on the fact they aren't the same thing.  He just assumed that because I am a vocal Humanist that I equate Humanism with Atheism. As it turns out he has just published a book on Humanism, considers himself a Humanist, and feels like I do about the atheism issue. I am not going to link to his website though because the guy made such an annoying first impression on me by assuming I think things I clearly don't.

The point is that you should never assume to know what someone else thinks. And, if you claim to be a Humanist, you should probably:

A) Try applying your Humanist values of respecting the fact that people are in fact individuals to the people you actually meet. In other words, don't label them dude.

B) Get your facts straight. This guy didn't bother to find out if what he thought was even true. Which means he didn't bother to challenge his own assumptions which led him to make an ass out of himself when it turned out his rather angry and snarky comments to me were unfounded.

C) Don't assume you disagree with someone you've never met. Find out if you do first. And most of all, allow people to surprise you with just how wonderful they really are.