Book
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Sway : unravelling unconscious bias
Publication Information
London ; New York : Bloomsbury Sigma, 2020.
Physical Description
448 pages ; 23 cm.
Summary
Experiments have shown that our brains categorize people by race in less than one-tenth of a second, about 50 milliseconds before determining sex. This means that we are labelling people by race and associating certain characteristics to them without even hearing them speak or getting to know them. This subtle cognitive process starts in the amygdala, the area of the brain associated with strong emotions. Does this mean that unconscious biases are hardwired into our brains as an evolutionary response, or do they emerge from assimilating information that we see around us? In Sway, author Pragya Agarwal uncovers the science behind our ̀unintentional' biases. Using real world stories underpinned by scientific theories and research, this book unravels the way our unconscious biases are affecting the way we communicate, make decisions and perceive the world. A wide range of implicit biases are covered, including age-ism, sexism and aversive racism, and by using research and theories from a wide range of disciplines, including social science, psychology, biology and neuroscience, readers learn how these biases manifest and whether there is anything we can do about them. This book encourages readers to think, understand and evaluate their own biases in a scientific and non-judgmental way.
Contents
- Section I. Hardwired. Gut instinct ; The dawn of time ; All in your head
- Section II. Smoke and mirrors. Back in your box ; Bobbsey twins ; Hindsight is 20/20
- Section III. Sex type-cast. Sugar and spice ; It's not black and white ; Swipe right for a match ; I hear you, I say
- Section IV. Moral conundrum. I'd blush if I could ; Good intentions
- Epilogue: De-biasing 101.