Thursday, May 21, 2015

Walk Boldly Toward Biases

The title of the TED Talk How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them , peaked my interest but failed to persuade me toward action (as she would have me do).   I had the motivation to confront my biases.  I know I have the ability to confront my biases.  The trigger of the world needing to be a more unbiased set the stage.  So why was I not persuaded to confront those biases as she would want me to?
Motivation
According to BJ Fogg and his Motivation Wave the level of motivation a person or audience has, will directly affect their desire to do.  Reading the talk title I was motivated to tackle my biases (according to Fogg) I was ready to do hard things, because my motivation was high.  The focus of the talk was to motivate people to confront their biases, specifically toward black males.  As I listened however, I noticed my motivation started to decline, and it wasn't because she was black.
Abilities
Once motivation is on the decline, according to Fogg, the ability to do specific behaviors declines as well.  As Fogg so eloquently stated on his website, "designers of persuasive experiences sometimes assume people have more ability than they really do".   I have the ability to recognize and work on biases that I have, but I found myself lacking the motivation to face my biases as she outlined.
Triggers
The third element of the Fogg Behavior Model is Triggers.  Without a Trigger, the target behavior will not happen.  During the talk the speaker begins a slide show of black successful males, to create a trigger that will replace our biases toward the "typical black male", with that of a successful black males.
Analysis
While I appreciate the talk and movement toward everyone becoming unbiased, there came a point in her talk where I found myself tuning her out.  My motivation started to slip when she started making "you" statements.  "You have to start…".  This (to me) implies that the only biases reside within me, pointing a finger of shame that black males were treated differently because of me (its my fault).  It may not have been her intention, but it came across that way to me. During the talk I found myself saying, "If black males want biases to end, emulate black males that are shown in her slides".  This of course is a biases that black males don't emulate those featured in her slides.  Throughout her talk she did not frame things on what both sides needed to do, it was always framed in a manner that suggested black males were treated unfairly (and it is because of me, so I felt).  It is the feelings that were created inside me while listening to her talk that dropped my motivation, ability, and triggers to walk boldly toward my biases.  As she talked and those feelings started to arise I found myself saying things like: "biases will end when you stop being the stereo type", and "stop portraying yourself as thugs, gangsters, and boys from the hood, and you'd be surprised how quick the biases will stop".  I found myself saying more bias things then I did before I listened to her talk.
As I analyzed my thoughts of biases, I realized her talk persuaded me to feel the opposite of what she was trying to accomplish.  I felt her talk was asking me not to be bias toward black males that do emulate negative things such as gangs.  For me, why would I have a bias toward someone emulating her slides, black or white?  Emulating good, successful people regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion would overcome biases.
In her talk she mentions not confronting our biases in such a way that would put us in danger, eluding to that fact that there are dangerous black males (her topic...but don't be bias toward them).  This is where my motivation declined.  How can I become non biased toward someone who emulates negativity, and possibly causing a threat to those around him?
At this point I felt the speaker failed to persuade as the Fogg Behavior Model outlined.  Did the talk bring awareness to some of the biases I have? Yes.  Because her topic was so one-sided, "you must" rather than "we must"…toward black males, she failed to persuade.  I feel she painted a picture that black males have biases toward them only because we have those biases, and not because of things they have done or emulate.  When a talk feels more like a lecture of how bad you are doing something, motivation will be lacking.

3 comments:

  1. Wow Taylor, I am sad to say that I agree with your analysis. She certainly points out how relevant the issue is and how real our biases affect us. But. I too don't think Fogg would find any easy way to resolve such inner conflict base on this presentation. Perhaps there are no easy answers other then to develop a self-awareness of our own biases and then somehow actively reframe our thinking. Where's Oprah?.... I bet she could help us figure this one out.

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  2. It's an all-too-common mistake, especially among well-meaning activists, to shift or centralize blame and/or shame. No one likes the finger, and yet it's such a ubiquitous emblem and illustrator misused to make a point. Pardon the pun.

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  3. I see what you are saying that she blamed the listener for the stereotype against young black men. I do think that she gave some good suggestions for overcoming biases though. Although, she let her passion for changing the image of young black men get in the way of her message and initiating a change in people's behavior.

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