G1037 The Power of Context; How to manage our bias and improve our understanding of others
Author: Daniel R. Stalder
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Publishing Date: 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63388-401-4
Summary:
A social psychologist focuses on a very common yet rarely discussed bias called the "fundamental attribution error," showing how being aware of this bias can improve our day-to-day understanding of others.
Social life involves making judgments about other people. Often these snap judgments turn out to be wrong when we overlook context. Social psychologists call this pervasive bias the "fundamental attribution error." This book explores the many ways in which this error creeps into our social interactions, frequently causing misunderstanding, hurt feelings, and negative treatment of others.
Psychologist Daniel R. Stalder examines common examples of this error, from road rage and misinterpreting facial expressions to "gaydar," victim blaming, and prejudice. The common denominator in these diverse examples is that we falsely assume inherent traits or intentions while overlooking situational factors that might explain a person's behavior.
Conversely in the actor-observer bias, we explain our own sometimes questionable behaviors by appealing to situational factors. For example, when you tailgate others, there's always a good reason, but when others tailgate you, they are obviously in the wrong.
Stalder also reveals little-known information about classic studies of context, considers both the upsides and downsides to bias, and shares numerous strategies to reduce bias.
Filled with interesting examples, new insights, and an abundance of research, this informative and entertaining book will help us understand each other and reduce conflict.
Author Info:
(From the book)
Daniel R. Stalder is an award-winning social psychologist who is a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. His many publications cover biases, individual differences, and cognitive dissonance theory. He has been interviewed by the Atlantic, The Verge, NPR, and other outlets. He runs the PARBs Anonymous website (Persons at Risk of Bias) which discusses how to use social psychology to reduce bias and conflict. He has won several teaching awards and in 2016 received the Letters and Sciences Excellence in Research Award from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Personal Opinion:
It's all too easy to forget that we are humans; that everyone makes mistakes and that people see the world differently from each other. We also see ourselves as authority and quite often we become experts in our lives. THE POWER OF CONTEXT by Danile R. Stalder is a bit of a bold book because in a small number of chapters, the book strips away the glory like in Emperor's New Clothes and shows us that underneath it all, all humans are naked. Most of the book is devoted to FAE, Fatal Attribution Error, which is based on assumptions about others. For a non-fiction reader seeking to understand how human we all are, this book should be a good fit.
This was given for a review
4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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