IAT Response

   THE IAT RESPONSE 

10/15/13 Unconscious Behaviors

  The overall purpose of the chapter was to illustrate the unconscious actions our society makes. People can be brainwashed in this idea that beauty is the key to perfection. They can also associate people, groups, races, or genders into specific categories without recognition. In the chapter "The Warren Harding Error", the author compares two middle-aged men. One man is successful and ugly, while the other one is handsome and dumb. The characters foil each other. The handsome man is more liked because of his appearance. People are so distracted by the outside appearance that they completely forget about the mental state or personality of the man. The handsome man is voted as president and ends up being the worst president in America's history. How did our society make such a big mistake? The mistake was caused by the unconscious association with beauty and success. People do not realize that these associations are being made. The part of the chapter that stood out the most to me was how these associations can be made unconsciously. This made me wonder what biased opinions I have. I do not consider myself a racist or a sexist person, but I may have some unconscious associations that I do not know of.

  Unconscious biased behaviors can be stopped by the body recognizing the associations. This is a tricky process because people can have no idea that these associations are being made and may never know. Associations tend to determine how a leader is chosen. Some of these associations are biased while others are true. A smart person would make a good leader. A smart person can be handsome or ugly. A physical trait does not determine an emotional trait. Just because a person is well dressed and pretty does not mean they are smart and good at making decisions. A leader should be looked at in all perspectives to avoid the biased opinions. A leader should be good at making decisions and should have knowledge. They should be able to look at situations in all perspectives

  I took the race test and the gender test. I associate women with careers more than I associate men with careers. I associate European children and African children equally. The race test did not surprise me, but the gender test did. I have an unconscious biased opinion associating women with careers. I think this association is true because I strongly believe in the power of women. People tend to associate men with careers. I strongly disagree with this association, so I now have my own biased opinion of the opposite association. I personally think men and women are created equal. My experiences with women being associated with family and home life have led me to have a biased opinion. My experiences have shaped my unconscious opinions.