Overcoming Resistance To
Attitude Change
by Sondra Thiederman, Ph.D.
The material in this article is adapted from Sondra's
book: "Making Diversity Work: Seven Steps for Defeating Bias
in the Workplace."
As effective as [bias reduction] steps usually are, they have been
known from time to time to hit a snag. Sometimes the nature of this
snag is hard to decipher, other times it is painfully clear: The person
holding the bias feels that their inflexible belief is benefiting them
in some way and, because of that benefit, just doesn't want to let
it go.
To be honest, sometimes
there is a tiny and temporary advantage, or what psychologists
call a "secondary gain," to
having a bias. Of course - and this is the tricky part - some tiny
benefit can't possibly out weigh the damage that biases wreak on
our lives and leadership abilities.
Your task is to look
honestly at the secondary gain you receive from any biases you
may hold. Maybe they provide a vague sense of control, maybe your
biases make you feel the world is just a little bit more predictable
and, therefore, safe, or maybe, as in the case below, that benefit
is more specific. In any case, the biased-person's task is to identify
the alleged benefit, analyze it to see if it is real, and weigh
it against the terrible price we pay for refusing to change. Once
we identify why we won't let the bias go, we can then make the
conscious decision to change and correct what I like to call a
very destructive "habit of thought."
Mark has a bias. He
believes that all fully-abled (or, as he is fond of saying with
a nod toward Father Time, "temporarily-abled")
people look down on him and others with disabilities. This misbelief
- that all members of a given group are biased-is perhaps the only
prejudice that is actually tolerated in the workplace. That toleration
is unfortunate because by putting up with the personal fiction that "All
men are sexist" or "All white people are racist" or,
as in Mark's case, "All fully-abled people look down on people
with disabilities," we promote the notion that some biases are
acceptable and others are not; nothing could be further from the
truth.
Mark's Alleged Benefit:
Prejudices like Mark's - I'll clumsily call it the "bias bias" -
are usually triggered by a desire to protect the misbeliever from a
repetition of emotional pain. From Mark's point of view, as destructive
as his bias is, it does keep him from being caught off guard next time
he is treated like a child or ignored as if he, and his wheelchair,
are invisible. Mark, you see, is a paraplegic who for years has been
patronized by strangers. Because of these bad experiences, he has developed
a bias against anyone who offers him assistance. The bias is so bad
that, at even the simplest offer of kindness, he is apt to bristle
and snap, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Sadly,
Mark has become just as biased as that minority of people who assume
that "All people with disabilities are to be patronized and
pitied."
The Price Mark Pays for His Bias:
Clearly this bias does not serve Mark well. Not only does it trap him
in a perpetually defensive stance against what he sees as a hostile
world, it prevents him from forming the kind of relationships that
could enhance his life and, ultimately, soften his perspective.
Conclusion:
I'd like to be able to say that an attitude like Mark's is unusual.
It is not; too many of us cling to biases without realizing that
we are addicted to what we think they do for us. What we forget is
that those meager benefits serve only to mask the terrible price
we pay in lost relationships, diminished effectiveness, and misplaced
opportunities.
Bias Basics Definitions:
Bias: An inflexible positive or negative belief about the nature,
character, or abilities of an individual that is based on a generalized
idea about the group to which the person belongs. Note: Bias is an
attitude, not a behavior.
Kinship Group: Any
population that shares a self- or externally-ascribed characteristic
that sets it apart from others. That characteristic can range anywhere
from race or gender to hobbies, interests, or shared life-circumstance.
Through the identification and creation of shared kinship groups,
we can change our definition of individuals from "them" to "us" and,
thereby, reduce feelings of bias against them.
Bias-Reduction Principles:
1. It is possible to eliminate all
but the most deeply-rooted biases through the breaking of inaccurate
and nonfunctional "habits
of thought."
2. Members of any kinship group are capable of bias; no one group is
any more apt to be biased than another.
3. Having a bias does not automatically mean that a person is lacking
in character; it does, however, mean that they are incapable of perceiving
the object of their bias accurately.
4. Just because a given behavior is consistent with a biased attitude
does not necessarily mean that it reflects a biased attitude.
5. Any effort to defeat bias must, of course, honor differences, but,
more importantly, needs to focus on and highlight what we share.
6. One reason we have difficulty giving up our biases is that we have
the illusion that they benefit us in some way.
For more information contact Sondra Thiederman, Ph.D. at Cross-Cultural
Communications, 4585 48th Street, San Diego, CA 92115. Phone numbers:
(619) 583-4478 / (800) 858-4478 or by e-mail at: STPhD@Thiederman.com,
Or visit their website at http://www.thiederman.com/
Copyright 2005 Cross-Cultural
Communications. All Rights Reserved.
