Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People

Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People

I know my own mind.
I am able to assess others in a fair and accurate way.

These self-perceptions are challenged by leading psychologists Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald as they explore the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality.

â€œBlindspotâ€ is the authorsâ€™ metaphor for the portion of the mind that houses hidden biases. Writing with simplicity and verve, Banaji and Greenwald question the extent to which our perceptions of social groupsâ€”without our awareness or conscious controlâ€”shape our likes and dislikes and our judgments about peopleâ€™s character, abilities, and potential.

In Blindspot, the authors reveal hidden biases based on their experience with the Implicit Association Test, a method that has revolutionized the way scientists learn about the human mind and that gives us a glimpse into what lies within the metaphoric blindspot.

The titleâ€™s â€œgood peopleâ€ are those of us who strive to align our behavior with our intentions. The aim of Blindspot is to explain the science in plain enough language to help well-intentioned people achieve that alignment. By gaining awareness, we can adapt beliefs and behavior and â€œoutsmart the machineâ€ in our heads so we can be fairer to those around us. Venturing into this book is an invitation to understand our own minds.

Brilliant, authoritative, and utterly accessible, Blindspot is a book that will challenge and change readers for years to come.

Praise for Blindspot
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â€œConversational . . . easy to read, and best of all, it has the potential, at least, to change the way you think about yourself.â€â€”Leonard Mlodinow, The New York Review of Books
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â€œAccessible and authoritative . . . While we may not have much power to eradicate our own prejudices, we can counteract them. The first step is to turn a hidden bias into a visible one. . . . What if weâ€™re not the magnanimous people we think we are?â€â€”The Washington Post
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â€œBanaji and Greenwald deserve a major award for writing such a lively and engaging book that conveys an important message: Mental processes that we are not aware of can affect what we think and what we do. Blindspot is one of the most illuminating books ever written on this topic.â€â€”Elizabeth F. Loftus, Ph.D., distinguished professor, University of California, Irvine; past president, Association for Psychological Science; author of Eyewitness Testimony
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â€œA wonderfully cogent, socially relevant, and engaging book that helps us think smarter and more humanely. This is psychological science at its best, by two of its shining stars.â€â€”David G. Myers, professor, Hope College, and author of Intuition: Its Powers and Perils
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â€œ[The authorsâ€™] work has revolutionized social psychology, proving thatâ€”unconsciouslyâ€”people are affected by dangerous stereotypes.â€â€”Psychology Today

â€œAn accessible and persuasive account of the causes of stereotyping and discrimination . . . Banaji and Greenwald will keep even nonpsychology students engaged with plenty of self-examinations and compelling elucidations of case studies and experiments.â€â€”Publishers Weekly
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â€œA stimulating treatment that should help readers deal with irrational biases that they would otherwise consciously reject.â€â€”Kirkus Reviews
Country USA
Brand Delacorte Press
Manufacturer Delacorte Press
Binding Hardcover
PartNumber Illustrated
Color Yellow
Height 9.52
Length 6.38
Weight 1.04940036712
Width 0.93
ReleaseDate 2013-02-12
NumberOfItems 1

Country	USA
Brand	Delacorte Press
Manufacturer	Delacorte Press
Binding	Hardcover
PartNumber	Illustrated
Color	Yellow
Height	9.52
Length	6.38
Weight	1.04940036712
Width	0.93
ReleaseDate	2013-02-12
NumberOfItems	1

Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People

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