When we’re surrounded by people who think like us, we share information more freely because we don’t expect to be rebuked. Recently, a team of researchers at MIT looked into how we share information-and misinformation-with those around us. Talking Past Each OtherĬlearly, the way we tend to self-sort ourselves into groups based on identity will shape how we perceive what we see and hear, but it will also affect how we share and access data. They are expressions of who we think we are. Hardly the product of cold logic, our opinions are, in large part, manifestations of our identity. He also makes the point that many of our opinions are a product of our inclusion in a particular group.
We rely on social intuitions to make judgments and then design logic to explain why we feel that way. In The Righteous Mind, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt points to decades of evidence that suggest that is exactly how we do things. If rational arguments are merely explanations of deeply held intuitions, the “arguments” from the other side would seem to be downright lies or just crazy. Yet what if we actually did things in reverse, intuitively deciding what was right and then coming up with rational explanations for how we feel? Discussion and debate wouldn’t achieve anything. We tend to assume that people examine facts to make judgments and that any disputes can be overcome through discussion and debate, through which we will arrive at an answer that is objectively correct. In western civilization, since at least the time of Descartes, we have traditionally thought in rational terms about how humans behave. When things go poorly, it’s much easier to blame the odd duck than the trusted insider. They are less often invited to join in routine office socializing and promotions are less likely to come their way. So those outside the dominant culture are encouraged to conform and are often punished when they don’t. We rarely welcome someone who threatens our sense of self. When researchers at Kellogg and Stanford put together groups of college students to solve a murder mystery, teams made up of students from the same sorority or fraternity felt more successful, even though they performed worse on the task than integrated groups. The innate distinctions we make regarding each other carry over to work environments. Group identification, even without any of the normal social cues, is enough to produce bias. Similar results were found in a study involving five year-old children and even in infants. In a study of adults that were randomly assigned to “leopards” and “tigers,” fMRI studies noted hostility to outgroup members. However, it takes effort to reap the benefits of diversity. A McKinsey report that covered 366 public companies in a variety of countries and industries found that those which were more ethnically and gender diverse performed significantly better than others. While those studies merely simulate diversity in a controlled setting, there is also evidence from the real world that diversity produces better outcomes.
Another study that simulated markets showed that ethnic diversity deflated asset bubbles. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that diverse groups can solve problems better than a more homogenous team of greater objective ability. There is no shortage of evidence that diversity can enhance performance. The better we are able to bridge differences, the more effectively we can collaborate with others who have different perspectives, which is crucial to becoming more innovative and productive.
However, it is also a matter of developing the right skills.
We are encouraged to think about matters of diversity in moral terms and, of course, that’s an important aspect. If she fell short, would I even stand a chance? My friend, who is black, muslim and female, is incredibly skilled at bridging differences and navigating matters of race, gender and religion. I often think about the episode and not just because it hurt my friend, but also because I wonder what I would have done if put in similar circumstances. It would cost her enormously, both personally and professionally. Being confronted with a clearly offensive remark, she was caught off-guard, said something that was probably unwise (but not untrue or unkind), and found herself at the center of a media-driven scandal.
#Shed mover near me tv#
I have a friend who was once ambushed on a TV show panel.
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