2-2-1 short response by Emily Hicks PDF

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IDS-100 2-2-1 Short Response: Bias and Assumptions Emily Hicks

1. Describe a time when a bias made it difficult for you to reason with either evidence you were presented with or the ideas another person had about that topic. A bias I have is against church people. I am from a Pentecostal background. The church my family attended believed ideas about certain topics that I began to perceive as absurd and ignorant. A few examples of these are women cannot wear make-up or pants, dinosaurs never existed, Earth is only 5,000 years old, and the wife is not equal to the husband in a marriage. Those are just the important ones to me, but they had other beliefs too.

I loved Science and History growing up. The facts I was learning was very far from the beliefs my family and their church held. I began to question them, their beliefs, ideas, and their God. Arguments soon followed which made me challenge them with facts from books. The next church day I refused to go but was begged by my family. I will never forget that evening as it was the last time I went to church. They made me go up to the alter. I had to stand there and be surrounded by everyone as they prayed and talked in tongues. Everyone began to touch me and lay their hands all over my body. I felt angry, misunderstood, and violated in some ways. I realized I was speaking to deaf ears, closed minds, and blind eyes.

2. Identify the type of bias I discussed and explain my reasoning. The type of bias I developed from this experience is the Social bias. The Social bias is a conscious bias about people thinking a certain way. They told me I was going to Hell for not believing what they believed. I never felt accepted, understood, or loved by the church or my family. In return, I have developed my own personal bias against Pentecostal Christians. I think all Christians are judging me and I do not trust them. Logically, I realize I am wrong. I plan to work on my bias. I also realize they had a bias too. I think they have a Communal Reinforcement bias because that bias is based on accepted ideas in a specific community that

goes unchallenged because it is widely held. In their church community they all held the same ideas and nobody challenged or questioned them until I tried to.

3. Briefly share your thoughts as to why being aware of the existence of bias is important to critical thinking and necessary when doing research, reviewing information, or when learning about the argument of others. I understand it is important to see all sides of a situation because people’s perspectives and expectations about a topic can affect the way they write or discuss it. Paying attention to bias and assumptions are important to critical thinking because if we do not view the information with a open-mind, our own judgements and assumptions about the topic could affect our view....