Aula 04 - Vieses Inconscientes

Summary

In this presentation, Josele Miller explores unconscious biases and their impact on decision-making, particularly in the context of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She explains how our brains automatically process information, leading to judgments based on past experiences, stereotypes, and social influences. The speaker highlights key biases such as affinity bias, confirmation bias, groupthink, halo effect, and contrast effect, stressing that while biases cannot be fully eliminated, awareness and active engagement with diverse perspectives can help challenge them. By reflecting on our automatic decisions, we can create more inclusive environments and foster fairer decision-making.

Takeaways

• 😀 Unconscious biases affect our daily decisions and interactions, often without us realizing it.
• 😀 Our brain processes 11 million bits of information per second, but we can only consciously process 40 bits, leading to automatic decision-making.
• 😀 Unconscious biases are formed based on personal experiences, stereotypes, and the environment we’ve been exposed to.
• 😀 Biases help us make quick decisions but can lead to inaccurate or unfair judgments about others.
• 😀 There is no rational cure for unconscious biases, but we can improve by broadening our perspectives and engaging with different people.
• 😀 The affinity bias occurs when we favor people who are similar to us, which can reduce diversity and inclusion in groups.
• 😀 Confirmation bias causes us to seek information that aligns with our existing beliefs while ignoring conflicting data.
• 😀 The group effect is when individuals conform to group behavior, even if it goes against their personal values or preferences.
• 😀 The halo effect involves perceiving a person positively based on a single trait, often ignoring their other characteristics.
• 😀 The contrast effect happens when we compare people to others rather than evaluating them on their own merits, which can distort our judgments.
• 😀 Being aware of our biases and consciously evaluating our decisions helps us make fairer choices and create more inclusive environments.

Q & A

What are unconscious biases?

Unconscious biases are automatic judgments and generalizations made about individuals based on stereotypes related to race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, and other characteristics. These biases are formed by our personal experiences, cultural background, and environment.

Why does the brain rely on unconscious biases?

The brain processes an enormous amount of information every second—around 11 million bits. However, it can only consciously process about 40 bits at a time. As a result, many decisions are made unconsciously to save cognitive energy and increase efficiency.

How much of our daily decision-making is conscious?

Approximately 90% of the decisions we make daily are unconscious, with only about 10% being made with full conscious awareness, where we reflect on and rationalize the decision.

Can you explain the concept of the 'pilot mode' in decision-making?

The 'pilot mode' refers to the automatic way we make decisions based on routines and past experiences. For example, we may drive a familiar route without consciously thinking about the directions, relying on our subconscious to guide us.

What is the danger of unconscious biases when it comes to people?

While unconscious biases can be harmless in routine actions, they can be problematic when applied to people. These biases can affect how we perceive others and influence decisions such as hiring or promotions, often leading to unfair treatment or missed opportunities for diversity.

What role does personal experience play in shaping unconscious biases?

Our biases are shaped by our personal experiences, including where we grew up, our family background, education, religion, and social environment. These experiences create 'lenses' through which we perceive and judge people and situations.

What is the affinity bias, and how can it affect hiring decisions?

The affinity bias is the tendency to favor people who are similar to ourselves in terms of interests, background, or physical appearance. In a workplace, this can lead to hiring individuals who resemble ourselves, potentially stifling diversity and inclusion.

What is the confirmation bias, and how does it influence decision-making?

Confirmation bias occurs when we seek out or give more weight to information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs or theories. This can lead us to ignore contradictory evidence, thus reinforcing our biases and limiting our perspective.

What is the group effect, and how can it manifest in a workplace setting?

The group effect refers to the tendency to conform to the opinions or behaviors of a group, even if they conflict with our own values. In the workplace, this can lead to employees making decisions based on groupthink, such as laughing at inappropriate jokes just to fit in.

How does the halo effect influence our perception of others?

The halo effect is when we allow one positive trait of a person to influence our overall perception of them. For instance, if someone graduated from a prestigious university, we may overlook their flaws and assume they are competent in all areas, even if there is no direct evidence supporting this.

What is the contrast effect, and how does it impact employee evaluations?

The contrast effect occurs when we judge a person not by their own qualities, but by comparing them to others. In performance reviews, for example, an employee might be rated higher or lower depending on who they were evaluated against previously, rather than their individual performance.