Achieving Better Goals II:

Do you think you’re more or less biased than the average person? Most likely you’ll say less. In fact, about 80-90% of people say they are less biased than the average person! You may be surprised to know that everyone is biased and biases operate all of the time - they are an important part of our life and we couldn’t live without them! Remember from Lecture 4, the demonstration of how our visual system makes assumptions about the world (e.g. light comes from above) - those assumptions are biases - best guesses - based on evolution and experience. But biases are not just perceptual - our emotions, societies, and cultures are filled with “best guesses”, assumptions, and biases. Our “Think Fast” unconscious mind is constantly applying these best guesses in an attempt to act quickly - but this leads to oversimplification and overgeneralization. To be biased is to be human - but to be biased does not mean to be right. We must use our conscious “Think Slow” minds to recognize our biases - our rapid best guesses - to question their validity and accuracy. Through consciously knowing the real world, we can overcome the stress, anxiety, and separateness that our biases cause in our lives and communities, thereby increasing feelings of well-being for ourselves and others. 

Our biases overlap with all our filters: beliefs, habits, fears, and attachments. They are the narrow lens of how we think the world is or should be, seeping through each feeling, thought, and behavior. This often causes us to assume others think the way we do, and when they give us “evidence” that they do not, we are quick to polarize the situation into an “us vs them” mentality (commonly seen in politics). There are over 100 different biases, but the most common ones that hinder our happiness are: Impact Bias (overestimating the emotional impact of future events), Negativity Bias (only focusing on negatives), Confirmation Bias (only finding and valuing facts that confirm your beliefs), Spotlight Effect (assuming people notice you more than they actually do), Zeigarnik Effect (the shame and lasting negative emotions proceeding a task perceived as unfinished), Blind Spot Bias (seeing self as less biased than others), Declinism Bias (favoring past as better than present or future), Representation Bias (assuming stereotypes), Self-Serving Bias (ignoring what highlights your flaws), Naive Cynicism (assuming we experience reality objectively and people who do not agree with us are out of touch with reality), and Status Quo Bias (assuming what’s common is what’s right or best).

Being biased is part of being human - even animals are biases. But we should actively find ways to correct them, especially when they harm our, and others’, happiness. To correct our biases, practice the metacognitive methods we discussed before, such as meditation, MBSR, and CBT. Another helpful tool is to utilize the 4 C’s discussed from healthy habit formation: be Conscious, Calm, Critical, and Compassionate. Be Conscious and aware of your confabulations by making your slow, logical conscious Reflective system work with your quick, subconscious Automatic system. Be Calm and relaxed in responding to your assumptions – adding stress and over-effort only generates negativity and amplifies anxiety. Be Critical by honestly challenging and questioning your biases to make your actions and thoughts more accurate and helpful. Be Compassionate and nonjudgmental - forgive yourself and others for biases - remember they afflict everyone. Biases are often not a sign of hateful people, but a sign of subconscious ignorance, fear, and culture. Just as we are not our thoughts, we are not our biases. Separate yourself from your unskillful biases. Identifying with them and not questioning their validity is a quick path towards hate, fear, and needless division. Throughout the course, you’ll find that changing our biases, internal narrative, negative chatter, and unhealthy habits all share the exact same methods and advantages – we must first heal our internal wounds before we can feel peace, or to quote Lao Tzu, “So the wise soul watches with the inner, not the outward eye.”