Figuring Out My Bias

If you just look around you will see an ad, on the computer, on your phone, on the radio, you name it, there’s an ad there. As a young woman living in this world where not very many people are satisfied with how they look or what they have, it’s hard to stray away from bias. Whether it’s subconscious or not, just by looking at an ad I have a bias toward it, either positive or negative, but once I see the details I’m not so intrigued anymore. The pressure as the mannequins stare down at you while you walk by the store, the confident feeling you get when you see the huge red sale signs as you peer at the shirt you’ve wanted for months now, and the thought of having a bag filled with new things is just enough to make a person go into a store. Finding out the truth is the downfall.

I took two IATs one showed that I had a slight bias toward European American children as opposed to African American children, while the other showed that I had little to no preference between old and young people. I didn’t know that I had a bias toward European American people, because I am around both races all the time. The race test showed that I have a bias, but I am not entirely certain what kind of bias it was referring to.

The race test showed my bias toward European American children, by seeing how quickly I was able to press a key when the positive words were associated with European American kids as opposed to African American kids. This made me realize how many biases I associate with certains people, not just race. When you walk down the street, you see so many people, and no two look the same. Without realizing it you associate one person with a certain group and another person with another group. I personally try to stay away from men that make vulgar comments, or anyone that is loud on the subway. I associate those people with negativity and being rowdy.

My mom always tells me to either sit near the driver, or near a woman who has a child or children with her when I am by myself on the subway.She and I both assume that someone who has children is less likely to bother me or anyone on the train. If I am near the driver, if anything happens, the man or woman would see it. I feel safer when the subway is quieter, like later in the afternoon when not very many high school students are on it making tons of noise. I also feel less comfortable when I am the only white person on the train, because I don’t like any attention to be on me, or to stand out at all.

I also have a bias toward clothes, and associate what people wear to what I think their personalities are. If somebody is dressed with a similar style to me, I assume that person and I would probably get along, whereas someone who dresses in clothes that present themselves in a way I wouldn’t quite feel comfortable, I would think that they had a personality that I would not get along with. When I see someone in a business suit or dress clothes I tend to feel safer around them. I don’t know why, I just do. That is just one of the many biases that I have in associating people with a certain group, without getting to know them, based solely on outward appearance.

Like I stated before, the age IAT showed that I have little to no bias when it comes to young or old. The test was the same as the race test, I had to type a certain letter for positive words and either older or younger people, then they changed the associations around on me. I did the same or slightly different when they changed it around. I wasn’t surprised by these results, because I feel comfortable around all ages. I have more bias based on looks rather than age. The test also asked questions about how old I felt, what age I wanted to be and what age people think I look. I think that my responses to those questions helped determine that I didn’t really have a bias, because for some responses I stated a younger age, and other responses I stated an older age, so the answers showed that I didn’t associate being old or being young with negative words.

I have biases toward trendy clothes, but I won’t overpay for them. I am easily drawn to try on outfits, or shoes, or anything else that catches my eye, but I don’t dive into getting whatever it is until I know the details. A big part of advertising is propaganda, and making the viewer believe they are getting a better deal than they actually are. Again, I have a bias toward the way something looks or how I look. I like to project an image of who I am. It might be comfy sweatpants one day, and a dress and heels another, but I want the way I look to represent me.

We can’t escape bias no matter where we get it from. It may be from our parents, or from an ad we see walking to school. It isn’t something that is good or bad, sometimes, it just is. Bias is something that is natural. Without even thinking about it your brain associates one thing with another. Its not until you analyze your own bias that you realize how hard it is to escape it.