Just
a reminder that the purpose of this discussion aims at stimulating
thought and self awareness as tools
to help those in recovery
from trauma learn how to make safer
choices. To make the discussion more jocular, we've defined
Cognitive Biases as “CranioRectal
Inversions” (CRI).
I've
struggled with writing this installment because I hate when a person
pulls a Blind Spot Bias subtype out of their hat as cult leaders
often do... Or were they in full force all along, but it took time for me to finally get over my own biases so that I am able to recognize
them in someone else?
I find them particularly difficult to bear when used
against me. I still haven't figured out how to recognize them in
someone else without making the realization a way of morally
denigrating someone somehow, but that is an element of life and
boundaries that I'm still chewing on. That tie to morality comes
about because of my past experience, but it's not necessarily an
element of a cognitive bias.
The
Illusion of Asymmetric Insight
We
humans tend to trust our own reasoning first when it conflicts with
information from someone else, and illusion of insight builds upon
that tendency. In a nutshell, not only does a person believe that
their own view of themselves is accurate, but it extends to insight
into the lives of others. It's most easily summed up by the saying,
“I know you better than you know yourself.”
If
you've exited a high demand group or relationship, this bias seems to
be a natural assumption of the leader – that their insights into
everything and everyone are superior if not actually divine. The
hidden curriculum of a social group enforces this idea covertly, and
some religions institutionalize the bias through doctrine. Does
anyone recall the video from the Calvinist
church near Chicago and the pronouncement that any opinion or
testimony that contradicted their elders was demonic? (Of course,
they neglected to state that a few
elders had recently departed from the church because of
disagreement over fleecing the sheep. Read
more here.)
A
Shortcut to Avoid Discomfort?
I also
think again of my psychologist friend who leans on the Blind
Spot Bias when she feels insecure. It feels painful to her to
consider that she has her own biases, and when threatened, she falls
into the pattern of asymmetric insight. I don't deny her skill which
does make her very insightful, but when it comes to interpersonal
conflict, she just automatically assumes that she is far more complex
than others and that they are quite simple to figure out. I always
feel a bit betrayed when she switches into this mode, and I will
challenge her because I trust in our friendship. She listens and
trusts me, so our friendship works.
This
never happens with a cult leader or a narcissist. They do not
negotiate. Everyone else must be seen as inferior and lost without
the divine insight and guidance from the leader, and this bias serves
as a primary way of protecting themselves from the pain of reality.
A person needs some degree of empathy to consider a perspective that
differs from their own, and those who are slaves to wielding their
power usually don't have the flexibility to do so. For them, they
are always a cut above, and conflict takes on a painful ethical
element that assigns greater worth to some and a lesser worth to
others.
How
to Avoid the Illusion
Biases
tend to lock us into a static view of the world around us, and
close-minded thinking makes a person quite vulnerable to this
pitfall. Humility helps, and perhaps why I tend to attach this bias
to the connotation of worth. We change, others change, our
circumstances change, so we must be vigilant about how we think about
things and how we choose to put them into perspective.
We have
plenty of bias that already limits us, just because we are limited
creatures. To be truly vigilant, we must constantly evaluate and
re-evaluate our thinking processes and our opinions. If someone
offers a logical explanation for a different position, we need not
see it as a struggle of wills if we negotiate. We can often be
wrong, and others might just be right.
For
Further Reading until the next post:
- One of the $3 Kindle books about Cognitive Bias at Amazon.com
- Shermer's The Believing Brain
- Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
- Gilovich, Griffin & Kahneman's Heuristics and Biases
- Robert Cialdini's Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
- Judith Herman's Trauma
and Recovery
