Blog post #4

My big inquiry question: How are prejudice and bias created?

My current topic: How can prejudice and biased opinions shape our environment?

I want to research what results in thinking this way. I want to research more specific global problems that resulted from this way of thinking by including the positive results and negative results. This can help me figure out what factors make us think of prejudiced and biased opinions.

This will have implications on a global level because many of us have prejudiced and biased opinions unknowingly. Why would we try to stop prejudiced opinions if we don’t know that it is usually a problem?

Prejudice opinions are mostly dangerous. Some problems that we face due to our prejudice and biased opinions are discrimination against our background, gender or skin color (1). Some results from having biased and prejudiced opinions about our skin color and background result in feeling sad, angry, depressed and feeling left out (2). This is so important to realize because it shows us how many prejudiced and biased opinions affected us (2). Didn’t we all feel sad, anger, depressed and left out at least once in our lifetime due to our skin color and background (2)? Another result in thinking this way about religion is hard drug use, vaping, eating disorders, and alcohol (4). In a report, people who have received racial discrimination are more likely to be associated with an alcohol disorder, smoking, high-risk of HIV, problem drinking and tobacco use (4). Also, the huge spread covid-19 is an example of our prejudiced opinions on genders (3). As Dr.Etienne said, “If [women] had been better protected [while working on the front line] from the start and with appropriate shifts, many infections may have been avoided”(3). Next, during covid-19, female healthcare workers had to be responsible for 80% of the chores while the men were responsible for only 20% (3).  After, women usually died earlier than men because they were not diagnosed as quickly as men. This result is due to not receiving adequate care (3).

Other statistics show that prejudiced and biased opinions resulted in religious discrimination (5). For example, more than a hundred Sikh security guards were fired in Toronto because they had to cut off their beards for the new mask mandate (5). The no-beard was against the Sikh religion, so they had to decide between their job and their religious practice (5). No one should ever have to make that hard decision. We should be accepted for who we are.  Also, another ridiculous news is when Metzger Bar and Butchery refused to serve a Christian organization (6). Everyone should be able to eat at a restaurant no matter their religion (6)!

With these statistics, we know how much prejudice and biased opinions shape our environment negatively. However, there are some positive aspects of prejudice and biased opinions (7). It provides us with emotional benefits (7). For example, optimism bias is where we mistakenly believe that our chances of positive events are higher than negative ones (7). This motivates us to achieve our goals, which lets us become less depressed (7). For example, even when I felt like I wouldn’t be able to memorize all my French vocabulary for a test because I just started studying the night, I had an optimism bias. This made me still study for my test and get 100% on the test. This is an example of how bias affects us positively (7)

My next inquiry question is how can we avoid negative biased and prejudiced opinions?

This will help me find the answer to my big inquiry question because by understanding how we can avoid it; we can eliminate these negative thoughts. As I understand why these ways of thinking exist, I want to help others avoid them.

1. Confronting prejudice: How to protect yourself and help others. (2019, July 9). PEP-UMT. https://onlinegrad.pepperdine.edu/blog/prejudice-discrimination-coping-skills/
2. Why is racism a problem? | australian human rights commission. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/education/why-racism-problem
3. Gender equality – We must do better, and we can! (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1EvoX6lf-Y
4. Covid-19 pandemic disproportionately affected women in the americas—Paho/who | pan american health organization. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://www.paho.org/en/news/8-3-2022-covid-19-pandemic-disproportionately-affected-women-americas
5. Religious discrimination. (n.d.). US EEOC. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination
6. Penley, T. (2022, December 7). Christian group lambastes Virginia restaurant for “stunning” service denial: “Religious discrimination”[Text.Article]. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/christian-group-lambasts-virginia-restaurant-stunning-service-denial-religious-discrimination
7. The optimism bias: Are you too optimistic for your own good? (n.d.). Verywell Mind. Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-optimism-bias-2795031