Discussion 3 this is the main post

The instructions for this Discussion Forum is different than the others. Please read carefully.

First please take an Implicit Association Test (link below). You can select whichever one you desire. Secondly, watch How to overcome our bias: Walk toward them video (Link Below).

Please discuss your experience/reaction to completing the test, and watching the video. Please list which test you completed and the reason you selected that particular test. What did you learn about yourself? Were you surprised about the outcome of the test? How did the information in the video help you to more fully understand your test results and what it meant for you based on your lived experiences? 

Please write a reaction/response to at least one of our classmate’s post.

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html (Links to an external site.)

Link (Links to an external site.) Watch Video – How to overcome our bias: Walk toward them.

Initial Post Due – February 11th

Final post should be made by February 18th.  (Given this is a two part discussion allowing some extra time)

Rach respond to the main post

I took the Native American Implicit Association Test (IAT). I chose this test because I was drawn to it and I don’t think I’ve done anything related to Native American heritage or culture. My results were as follows: ‘Your responses suggested little or no automatic association between American and Foreign with Native American and White American.’ I actually made no errors on the test, which I was pretty happy about. I have done similar IATs before, and remember that feeling of getting the red ‘x’ when I was incorrect. I guess that I am not surprised with my results of this test because I don’t have a preference between white people and Native Americans. What I learned about myself is that I am truly neutral when it comes to certain associations related to race and ethnicity. It was surprising to me to learn that many people do have a preference.

In the video, Verna Myers offers some ways to help reform biased thinking about African American youth (Myers, 2014). She suggests that people get out of denial and to accept that old stereotypes are wrong (Myers, 2014). She also advises to move toward young black men and not away from them (Myers, 2014). Verna Myers also explains how research demonstrates that people prefer white people (Myers, 2014). In tasks much like the IAT that I just completed, most of the population would exhibit a preference for white people (Myers, 2014). This is a very interesting fact. Studies show that individuals are more likely to associate positivity with a white face than a black face (Myers, 2014). Studies are also demonstrative that individuals are more likely to associate negativity with a black face than a white face (Myers, 2014). Some statistics Myers provides are that 70% of white individuals prefer white faces over black faces, and that 50% of black individuals prefer white faces over black faces (Myers, 2014).

“Biases are the stories we make up about people before we know who they actually are” is something that Myers stated in the video and I appreciate this perspective (Myers, 2014). Establishing the existence of biases and recognizing what the biases are and how they can affect our own lives and the others around us will help create a community where everyone can thrive (Myers, 2014). I understand the purpose of taking the IAT and how it associates with the video. These tools have helped me gain a greater understanding that my personal bias, or lack thereof, will present itself in practice, because the brain makes various automatic associations when it sees individuals of different races.

References

Project Implicit. (2020). Take a Test. Retrieved from https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.htmlLinks to an external site.

Myers, V. (2014). How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them . Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/verna_myers_how_to_overcome_our_biases_walk_boldly_toward_themLinks to an external site.