The Tribune

By Kirkland Pratt

A short cut through a less than safe area in Nassau triggered a very telling visual for me last week. As I drove, my eyes caught a drunken man who was being physically pushed aside by pedestrians within the community. When his stressed body finally gave out to the street in collapse, a handful of young potcake puppies were jumping all over themselves to engage the intoxicated man.

The man was cognizant enough to entertain the pups and they seemed to be having a good time. What a parallel though – the pups didn’t care who the drunkard was, they didn’t deny him their play because of his seemingly lowered socio economic status, nor did they try to change him. They played around all of his vulnerabilities. Canines are without conscious thought which then thrusts cognitive humans in an increased position of accountability for being unbiased.

How much more evolved are we humans in our character? How many layers do we peel back before we process each other sans stereotypes, classism, and cognitive bias? How often do you hear glowing parents revel in their children’s success in medical school and negate the other children who work hard in blue collared occupations? How often do we celebrate Johnny come lately or lackluster politicians while the stellar achievements of the hardworking teachers, nurses and community builders go unsung?

From a psychological perspective, a cognitive bias is the human tendency to make systematic decisions in certain circumstances based on cognitive factors rather than evidence. Bias arises from various processes that are sometimes difficult to distinguish – certainly we are not short on bias in our Bahamaland. These processes include information-processing shortcuts, motivational factors, and social influence. Such biases can result from information-processing shortcuts called heuristics. They include errors in judgment, social attribution and memory.

Just a thought: Consider the huge President Barack Obama following here throughout our isles. Is he as wildly popular in the Bahamian psyche because he is capable or because he a black man? Bias proper is void of rational judgment and has the potential to taint otherwise sound or empirical evidence needed to substantiate truth.

Other forms of bias include: gender bias, age bias, overconfidence effect, projection bias and self-serving bias to name a few.

Bias in the Bahamian context may sound like this: “Iris you ein see Max daughter dead? She was such a pretty girl”. Lookisim bias as good looking people face the same mortality as non descript looking people).

“Errytime you look around one a dese funny last name people commitin a crime – I bet das one a dem Hyshun”. Race/social bias as crime is a plague in any society and is committed by a cross section of the citizenry regardless the ethnic origin.

“WANTED: a young dynamic Christian lady to clean, cook and iron for 5 days per week. Serious inquirers only”. Christians aren’t the only people who present for integrity and responsibility. As a matter of fact as we have seen with this gambling referendum, even some Christian leaders have found themselves on the opposite side of morality in the face of the Bible that they pound on from their pulpits by supporting an existing illegal activity.

Critical thinking is useful to identify and surpass cognitive biases by basing our analysis on logic, reason, and observation. Two aspects of critical thinking are prediction and diagnosis, which can be regarded as two sides of the same coin. Relying on biases but keeping them in check requires a delicate balance of self-awareness - but most of all an open mind.

Keep thinking though, you are good for it.

• Kirkland H. Pratt, MSCP, is a Counselling Psychologist with a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology with an emphasis in Education. He lectures in Industrial Psychology and offers counselling and related services to individuals and businesses. For comments, contact kirklandpratt@gmail.com.