Perceptual bias is subconscious; you find what you look for.
observation — attributed to Dr. Wayne Pernell
Pernell's TEDx talk addresses perceptual bias. The mechanism is that humans know what they know and look for things that validate it. The brain's reticular activating system surfaces the validating evidence and filters out the contradicting evidence. A worldview narrows accordingly. Biases about racial groups, ethnic groups, or driver types get reinforced because the looking finds what was being looked for. The process is subconscious, which is what makes it insidious. The implication for any decision-maker is operational. The decision-maker is not seeing the room as it is; they are seeing the parts of the room that confirm what they already believed. Effective decisions require deliberate counter-looking.
For executive coaches, leaders, and decision-makers thinking about how their own perception shapes the choices they make. The observation is most useful as a self-check before high-stakes decisions.
perceptual-bias, ras, subconscious, self-validation