BS: Unconscious prejudices - Harvard study

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices - Harvard study
From: Jeri
Date: 17 Apr 12 - 09:47 AM

Like Jack said...
I did the dresses/people/words thing. I really resented the combo of black faces and bad words together. White faces and bad words didn't bother me. I suspect my reaction has to do with history and who's been dumped on most.

Let's talk about dresses. I haven't owned a white dress since at least when I was a little kid, and probably not then because my parents were realists. White dresses get dirty. A white dress on me now would make me look bigger than a black dress. Now, I'm beginning to realize that I may have a repressed desire to be able to wear a white dress and look good, or not spill coffee or red wine on myself, or ruin it by jumping in a mud puddle or climbing a tree. Who knows?

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices - Harvard study
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 17 Apr 12 - 07:02 AM

It made me giggle I'm afraid. I was asked to evaluate Money and Furniture!!. Questions such as "I like the smell of money" Chance would be a fine thing, I don't get near enough to my money to sniff it before it's spent. It decided at the end that I'm moderately biased in favour of furniture. (Mmm, a secret penchant for sofas eh?) Also, it decided that MY choices were wrong. If I pressed 'Good' for example, a large red cross appeared, as the survey judged it Wrong. It wanted me to press Bad. I'm worried now, I must be prejudiced in favour of tables and chairs, and there was me thinking I had no bias! Seriously though, it asked me to click on my income amount, but their choices were in dollars. I didn't have time to convert it all to pounds sterling. There ARE other currencies in the world other than the dollar!!

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices - Harvard study
From: Ebbie
Date: 17 Apr 12 - 01:49 AM

Your (my) results are reported below:
Your data suggest a moderate implicit preference for Barack Obama compared to Herman Cain.
Your data suggest a slight implicit preference for Black People compared to White People.

Interesting.But "moderate preference for Barack Obama over Herman Cain"? lol

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices - Harvard study
From: Janie
Date: 17 Apr 12 - 01:27 AM

That was also my intitial concern, Jack. Read about the methodology, however, and I think you will realize that is not the case.

Social science research will probably never be able to offer the vigor of hard science research. But this project and it's findings are definitely worth much more than the considerable value (to this gardener) of horse shit.

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices - Harvard study
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 17 Apr 12 - 01:03 AM

I think it is horse shit. It started to try to train me into associating an individual with negative words and I quit it.

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices - Harvard study
From: Janie
Date: 17 Apr 12 - 12:22 AM

I've been participating in both the research and the demonstrations for several weeks, and have often been surprised re the personal feedback. When I haven't liked the feedback I have wanted to diss the research and/or methodology. Fact is, in terms of social science research, they have nailed this down about as well as technology and scientific method allows so far, and accounted for handedness, etc.

Response time, within limits, is not compared to the response time of other people participating, but is compared to one's own variances in response time as the response matrix becomes more complex. At least as best I can figure.

I'm not a researcher but am fairly in touch with social science and psychological research and methodology, and this seems to be a pretty daggum sound project in terms of methodology from what I have read and researched.
Took me a little while to understand, though.

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices - Harvard study
From: Jeri
Date: 16 Apr 12 - 11:54 PM

Oops-- my bad. It said IF your score was inconclusive, which it wasn't. Thing is, I had a whacky test result when I had the visual evoked potential thingie with electrodes glued onto my head, so who knows...

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices - Harvard study
From: Jeri
Date: 16 Apr 12 - 11:51 PM

I'm noticing a prejudice toward reading the thread. ;-)

I did it, and it came out completely backwards, possibly having to do with the fact I'm moderately ambidextrous and frequently can't tell my right from my left. Probably why I suck at video games.

Supposedly, I prefer white dresses (I don't agree) and black faces (wouldn't have thought so, but OK). But it also told me it was inconclusive because I made a big pile of mistakes.

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices of any ilk
From: Janie
Date: 16 Apr 12 - 11:50 PM

Interesting reactions so far. Hope there will also be some introspective responses.

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices of any ilk
From: GUEST,Hookey Wole
Date: 16 Apr 12 - 11:28 PM

Interesting...

I am a lifelong ruthlessly self analytical & critically aware individual,
and honestly believe all my well considered biases are most definitely concious.

I would go as far as saying my personal ideology is defined by what I don't like about other people,
much more than by what little I can positively find to like.

But after 30 odd years of disappointment and disillusionment
I still harbour a naive idealistic optimism to search for the best in other people.

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices of any ilk
From: Bert
Date: 16 Apr 12 - 11:24 PM

Unfortunately, I have a very serious prejudice against stupidity and bigotry.

Subject: RE: BS: Unconscious prejudices of any ilk
From: Janie
Date: 16 Apr 12 - 11:22 PM

Perhaps not the best thread title. If an elf has a better title, or if some one else who thinks it worth the time has a better title to suggest to an elf and calls upon them to change it, please do - no consultation or permission from me required.

Subject: BS: Unconscious prejudices of any ilk
From: Janie
Date: 16 Apr 12 - 11:05 PM

Most of our biases (and we all have them,) are unconscious. Some interesting research, as well as an opportunity to both participate in research and discover a little something about your own unconscious biases can be found at Project Implicit

Some background and additional information, or perhaps, context can be found here
and here.

The second link in the above paragraph is likely to be experienced as less emotionally ladened than the first, and perhaps lead people to be less likely to be averse to exploring what their own unconscious biases might be, and makes most explicit that we do not have to be victims of our unconscious biases when it comes to how we make choices in the world.