What is Bias? I have learned that Bias is prejudice or an unbalanced tendency to believe some people, thoughts, ideas, and more that are better than others. Biases are commonly based on stereotypes regarding people based on their subcategories. It can be harmful to realistic outcomes and can ruin or change someone's life. People usually have no idea that they hold and use their biases. People tend to choose their decisions rapidly without thinking properly and figuring out the consequences about it. 

     There is also a category of biases and these are called Cognitive Biases. If you ask me, what are Cognitive Biases? Cognitive Biases are repetitive techniques of thinking that can result in a wrong conclusion. It can create more contradictions and can build up incorrect reasoning. People usually use this bias for making quick decisions. There are numerous reasons why is scarce attention, being pressured socially, experiencing passionate inputs, and more. It is significant to be aware of doing cognitive biases and fight against their effects as soon as possible. 

     Next is the Six Hats Method. What is the 'Six Hats Method'? The Six Hats Method is a way that can help analysts to avoid biases, hasty assumptions, and risky conclusions that can lead to inaccurate answers. This was created by Edward de Bono as a parallel thinking process for decision-makers. I wonder, what are the Six Hats? Blue Hat depicts process and being in control of something. The White Hat symbolizes facts and truth to determine what will happen after your decision is chosen. Next is the Red Hat which represents emotion and feelings. Another hat is the Green Hat is creativity and tells about changing people or objects in a situation. The Yellow Hat is about the importance of the decision and makes you think about the bright side of it while the Black Hat displays cautiousness and carefulness about the decision you will make. This Six Hat Method will be helpful to us especially choosing between hard and risky decisions. 

First, what is bias? A bias is a tendency, inclination, or prejudice toward or against something or someone. Some biases are positive and helpful—like choosing to only eat foods that are considered healthy or staying away from someone who has knowingly caused harm. But biases are often based on stereotypes, rather than actual knowledge of an individual or circumstance. Whether positive or negative, such cognitive shortcuts can result in prejudgments that lead to rash decisions or discriminatory practices. A category of biases, known as cognitive biases, are repeated patterns of thinking that can lead to inaccurate or unreasonable conclusions. Cognitive biases may help people make quicker decisions, but those decisions aren’t always accurate. Some common reasons why include flawed memory, scarce attention, natural limits on the brain’s ability to process information, emotional input, social pressures, and even aging. When assessing research—or even one's own thoughts and behaviors—it’s important to be aware of cognitive biases and attempt to counter their effects whenever possible.

What causes people to be biased? Starting at a young age, people will discriminate between those who are like them, their “ingroup,” and those who are not like them, “their outgroup.” On the plus side, they can gain a sense of identity and safety. However, taken to the extreme, this categorization can foster an “us-versus-them” mentality and lead to harmful prejudice.

Can a person be unbiased? Generally, no. Everyone has some degree of bias. It’s human nature to assign judgment based on first impressions. Also, most people have a lifetime of conditioning by schools, religious institutions, their families of origin, and the media. However, by reflecting critically on judgments and being aware of blind spots, individuals can avoid stereotyping and acting on harmful prejudice.

How do you identify if a source is biased? If a source is biased, you can notice them being heavily opinionated, the source relies on unsubstantiated claims, it presents highly selected facts that lean to a certain outcome, it presents opinion rather than facts, it uses inappropriate languages, etc. Asking questions such as, who produced the source? What facts has the author committed? What additional information is necessary? What words create positive or negative impressions? And many more. This discussion also allowed me to learn about the Six Hats Method by Edward de Bono. The Sic Hats Method is proven to be a very effective method for making decisions that takes into account a variety of viewpoints. The approach and procedure allow for the integration of emotion and skepticism into what could otherwise be a purely rational decision-making process, as well as the ability to make more creative decisions.

Lastly, can biases really affect our lives? Biased tendencies can greatly affect both our personal and professional lives. They can influence our actions and decisions, they can affect the way we interact with people, they can also affect the advice we give and consider, and they can also greatly affect the way we conduct performance evaluations. In short, biases can greatly affect the way we think and decide. Therefore, it is important for each and everyone of us to learn how to examine biases correctly and know whether the information is accurate and reliable.

Those are the lessons that I have learned this Week 1 of the 3rd Quarter!

First, the topic of discussion begins with the factors that influence decision-making. Aside from our personal desires, cultural, psychological, social, and other information all have a role in decision-making.

Second, bias is described as a predisposition, predilection, or prejudice toward or against something or someone. It can be positive and beneficial, but it can also be bad and result in a terrible effect. Biases are typically based on preconceived notions rather than actual knowledge of a person or circumstance.

Biases are natural processes that help people make quick decisions. They are uncontrollable, automatic, and unconscious.

Identifying biases is a difficult task, and the video offered ways for doing so as well as examples of biases that we may encounter. When analyzing a source, ask yourself, "Does the content provide all of the facts or at least fairly present both sides of an argument?" ", "Who owns/produces the source?", "Do they back up their claims with facts?" " may aid in determining whether or not it is biased. Biased materials are highly opinionated, present selective facts, utilize inappropriate language, and rely on unsubstantiated claims.

The discussion also explains a type of bias known as cognitive biases. The repetition of mental processes might lead to erroneous or unreasonable conclusions. It may help people make quick decisions, although such decisions are not always correct.

Methods for eliminating prejudice are also discussed, with examples including watching the indications, building a line argument, and selecting more likely instances.

And lastly, the video discussed Edward de Bono's "Six Hats Method," which is a parallel thinking process that helps analysts overcome their assumptions, biases, and heuristics. Members are allotted a "part" to play or a hat to wear in this. There are six different styles of hats:

•Blue Hat-Process (the leader)

•White Hat-Facts (is neutral and expresses only facts)

•Red Hat-Emotion (uses emotion/is emotional)

•Green Hat-Creativity (looks outside the box/likes to improve things)

•Yellow Hat-Benefits (looks at everything with a positive attitude) 

•Black Hat-Cautions (the “devil’s advocate” and emphasizes the risks & dangers).

Examining biases is beneficial in all aspects of our lives. It can assist us in quickly understanding and determining whether or not a specific piece of information is true or trustworthy. We can't deny that in our modern period, where social media is widely used, we can read some news that is false or prejudiced. This lesson can help everyone assess before making assumptions or decisions. Let us look for biases in the information/news we consume. We should promote unbiased news in an age when we all utilize social media to get information and expertise. 

Keep in mind, "Always consider what might happen if you were on the other side."

 

In this lesson I learned bias is an unbalanced load for or against a thought or thing, as a rule in a way that is shut leaning, biased, or unreasonable. Also that prejudice is regularly characterized as biases about individuals in view of their participation in a specific gathering. This type of prejudice can have unfortunate results in reality. Individuals might be aware of their biases. Prejudice are regular cycles that assist with peopling make fast decisions. It is absolutely impossible to beat these reflexes more often than not. Bias can take many different forms so it is sometimes hard to identify, some of the forms they take are the following financial sway, different beliefs, sexism and many more. So when researching about a specific topic that is debated by many you need to check other sources first since if you only check one source it might be bias.