The Dangers of Static Thinking
Social thought complexes can hold you back.
Everything changes. It’s the nature of things. It’s observable. It’s how historians have an all important job to track and catalog the course of history in real time because change is a given. We prepare for change. It’s why you have life insurance and other contracts because you anticipate change. It’s why you prepare for seasonal change months in advance so you’re not caught off guard. With the very notion of change being rudimentary, why can’t you change your mind? Let’s dig in!!!
Let’s get a starting point defined here:
Static Thought (also known as static reasoning) is a term used in Developmental Psychology to describe a child’s belief that the world is unchanging. They believe that how things are in the present is how they always have been and how they always will be.
This begs the question; What thought process in your life have you clung to like a wig in the wind and what’s your reasoning? We’re dealing with the subconscious and unconscious mind in this conversation. You’re mindlessly thinking about something to a degree where it’s almost robotic like. I want to examine social biases here. Why? I truly believe that the reason people don’t change their mind is because a certain way of thinking is acceptable by the masses. This brings us back to the “things will always be like this” static thought process.
Social Bias
What is a social bias?
We define social bias as discrimination for, or against, a person or group, or a set of ideas or beliefs, in a way that is prejudicial or unfair. Social bias often involves consciously or unconsciously stereotyping others and behaving in a way that disadvantages a person or group or advantages another.
I want to more-so cover implicit bias (unconscious) in this post and not explicit bias. We’ll cover some but definitely not all social biases. All of these biases can be overcome, even though they are have been programmed over a long period of time.
Gender Bias
“I don’t think a woman should act like that.”
“A man shouldn’t do that. That’s what women are for!”
This is an easy one to observe and I’m guessing the most common. It can be seen at work, at home, in churches, at the gym and at the grocery store. Yes, a woman can be the pastor at a church. Yes, a man can stay at home and take care of the kids while the woman works.
Age Bias
“I think he’s too old to try to run in a marathon.”
This may be a bias angled in fear for health and safety. I’m guessing. For some reason, we think older people should just go away and disappear until the funeral. Are you trying to protect the elders from themselves? Why?
Name Bias
“Geez, his name is Ishaan. Is there anyone else we can pick?”
The person who would make this statement probably wouldn’t even consider themselves racist and would be offended if you made that claim. So where does the deep-seeded stereotype come from? Movies? News? Parents?
Halo Effect
“She‘s a great person. She said she feeds the hungry once a month at the local shelter.”
I’m thinking that’s more of a wishful thinking bias. LOL. Here, we’re singling out one great quality and making broad conclusions and dismissing more relevant info. Like, “Did you hear when she said she hates fat people??” Deep in your psyche, why do you want people to be greater than they really are?
Affinity Bias
“That’s amazing! I graduated from Ohio State University too! I bet you’d make a great hire!”
Ok, this person makes you feel comfortable because of a similarity. Where did you get the programming that similar is “good?” I’d bet the people that have done you the most disservice (the most often) were similar to you in some form, if you were to be honest.
Anchor Bias
“He’s a really cool guy. He has a million followers on Twitter.”
In today’s world, that nugget of information really moves the meter. Should it? Should you get overly hyper because a person you don’t know showed up to your gym that you saw on social media who has a million followers? How does that notion infiltrate your psyche? This guy could be the biggest jerk ever, but um …. he has a million followers. LOL.
The twist in all of this is that these may not be YOUR thought processes. You may not identify with any of these examples, personally. But they are all around you. Do you correct people when they show their bias in a open matter? If not, your complicit in the bias. Simple. In a lot of situations and circumstances, your silence equals “agreement.” Does a part of you deep down actually agree with these biases and you can’t speak up? Maybe. Maybe not. Observe yourself daily and question where your thoughts come from. You’ll find that — more often than not — you are NOT the originator of many of your thoughts and your thinking may be static.
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