Prejudice is… legal practice. Turn the tide in your favor: how to respond to prejudice

What is bias

Prejudice, according to the etymology of this word, means prejudice towards something, manifested in advance. This may relate to assessments, conclusions, opinions, the result of which is a biased attitude towards a situation, event, phenomenon, person, etc. This attitude has both subjective and objective reasons.

Objective reasons for bias

Objective reasons are dictated by certain generally accepted norms, rules, the current socio-political situation. For example, there is a rule of etiquette: it is unacceptable for an applicant to be late for a pre-employment interview. Of course, this can be explained with a good reason. Some HR managers, in addition to interviews, great importance give a probationary period, where the employee can fully reveal himself. In such cases, regardless of the unwanted incident, they hire the employee. But more than 50% of recruiters consider being late for an interview completely unacceptable. This is often dictated by the corporate culture of the company. Of course, in such cases, there will be a biased attitude towards the candidacy of a latecomer as a person who is not punctual.

Subjective causes of bias

The subjective reasons for a biased attitude, for example, between a leader and a subordinate, may be related to the specifics of the approach to the individual. They depend on such properties as low self-esteem, fear of competition due to young age or bright leadership qualities, greater competence, and finally, charisma, which the leader will see as a potential reason to take his chair. Often at school, a teacher may develop a biased attitude, negative, distrustful towards a student who entered the school from a dysfunctional family, or towards the children of immigrants who arrived from the former Soviet republics.

Bias and stereotypes

A biased attitude is something that can be based on stable prejudices, prevailing public opinion, and stereotypes. Not so long ago in our country there was an opinion that a woman leader is worse than a man, able to cope with the role of a boss. It was more difficult for her to establish herself in leadership positions, especially when she came to a new, already established team. Life, social and economic development change a lot. Nowadays, women often head companies, firms, open their own business. In many regions, especially in the outback, a preconceived notion about a woman leader still remains.

Consequences of Bias

A biased attitude, the meaning and consequences of which can be assessed as negative, leads to controversial situations. A conflict based on mistrust can arise within a team of employees, between a leader and subordinates, between students and a teacher, parents and a teacher, a coach and athletes, etc. In turn, this affects the image and work of the enterprise. From difficult life situations associated with interpersonal relationships, no one is immune. It is impossible to foresee them in advance. We must remember that there is always a way out. If it is difficult to find it yourself, you should turn to friends, relatives, a professional psychologist.

PRECONCEIVED

PRECONCEIVED

At different stages of the history of the Russian literary language, the forms and principles of the relationship of the Russian lexical-semantic system to the semantic systems of Western European languages ​​changed. These changes were reflected both in the choice of borrowed words, and in the methods of their Russian nationalization, and especially in the methods of tracing foreign words. In the field of these semantic phenomena, a particularly sharp line between the past and the new is marked in the 30-40s of the 19th century.

The words preconceived, bias - book, intellectual. They are used mainly in the styles of reasoning, journalistic and scientific treatise. Preconceived means: `based on prejudice, formed in advance, before becoming familiar with the essence of something, which is the fruit of some predisposition.' preconceived thought, preconceived notion, biased decision, judgment. Naturally, the word bias, except for the designation of an abstract quality by the adjective preconceived (bias thoughts, decisions), also expresses the meaning: `prejudice, prejudice against someone-something.' For example, to judge without prejudice(Ushakov, 3, p. 711).

These words, in their morphological structure, are associated with Church Slavonic elements in the composition of the Russian literary language ( pre-take, pre-charge). However, these words in their current meanings were formed not earlier than the 40-50s of the 19th century. In fact, they are not yet reflected in the dictionary of 1847. Here the verb bias- prejudice regarded as an obsolete, church word. Its meaning is defined as follows: “Preliminarily take; to occupy or seize, forestalling others” (sl. 1847, 3, p. 426). The words preconceived and bias not marked here at all. From this we can conclude that the formation of these words occurred regardless of the active use of outdated Church Slavonicism. bias. However, in Weismann's Lexicon, education preconceived found in direct etymological meaning (Weisman, p. 725). participle adjective preconceived arose when the verb bias has already fallen out of the active dictionary of the Russian literary language, has ceased to be used in general literary speech. Obviously, the morphological structure and meaning of the word preconceived formed under some influence of Western European languages. This word was needed to translate someone else's word and concept (apparently, in the scientific and philosophical language). It is difficult to build the genesis of the Russian word preconceived to French expressions partiris`prejudice, decision', sans partipris(cf. biased`de parti pris"). Therefore, the word preconceived brought to life by the German vorgefasst. Wed in the "Complete German-Russian Lexicon" (part 2): " Vorgefast... Before proper research accepted. eine vorgefasste Meinung, prejudice, prejudice. eine vorgefasste Liebe, love is partial, premature, prejudiced” (Adelung, Poln. lex., part 2, p. 865).

It is curious that in the 1950s and at the very beginning of the 1960s there was still a wavering between preconceived and pre-occupied. Wed M. A. Antonovich in the article “Two Types of Modern Philosophers” (1861): “Under such conditions and with such preparation, the old philosophers began to study philosophy. They already had it ready pre-occupied system, and an unshakable conviction took root that all philosophy is false and harmful...” (Antonovich, p. 10).

But by the mid-60s, the word preconceived deeply entered the lexical system of the Russian literary language, and above all into its philosophical and journalistic styles.

I. S. Turgenev in the article “About “Fathers and Sons”” (1868-1869): “No! without truthfulness, without education, without freedom in the broadest sense - in relation to oneself, to one's own biased ideas and systems, even to one's own people, to one's history, a true artist is inconceivable; without this air one cannot breathe” (Turgenev 1967, 14, p. 108). F. M. Dostoevsky in his "Diary of a Writer" (1873): "... any work of art, without biased direction, performed solely out of artistic need ... ”(Dostoevsky 1889, 10, p. 83). But cf. in his review of N. Uspensky’s Stories (1861): “But the view and idea of ​​the writer, already derived as a result of the development of the accumulated material, is a completely different predefined and the perfect look real a look expressing, judging by the strength of the writer, sometimes even the whole modern public thought about the life of the people at the moment” (Dostoevsky 1979, 19, p. 179). N. I. Pirogov in the “Diary of an old doctor”: “I am independent, that is, independent of biased opinions and doctrines” (Pirogov N., 2, p. 175).

In M. I. Sukhomlinov's "History of the Russian Academy" (1880): "... to call this thought biased it is already impossible because this name is connected for the most part with the concept of intent, of a deal with one's conscience, of a deliberate deviation from a clearly recognized truth ”(Sukhomlinov, issue 5, p. 583). K. S. Stanislavsky in the book “My Life in Art”: “It’s not good if the artist immediately outlines for himself such a point from which he will look at the whole work, and fixes it on the very first completed and elaborated drawing. Then it will be difficult for him to move away from this drawing for further searches, and it will become one-sided, biased, as if surrounded by some kind of wall, through which one cannot see new prospects ... ”(Stanislavsky, p. 583).

word formation preconceived, although it was stimulated by the influence of the German vorgefasst, came down, in essence, to a rethinking of the participial form from the verb bias preserved in the archival fund of the Russian literary language.

Published in the collection "Etymology (Research on Russian and other languages)" (M., 1963, p. 99-101) together with articles on the history of words letter bearer, beacon, the soil, shabby, duel, aforethought, representative, courtier under the general title "Historical and Etymological Notes".

The archive preserved the manuscript on 9 numbered shabby sheets of various formats. Here it is printed from an impression, checked and corrected according to the manuscript. with a number of necessary amendments and clarifications. - E. To.

V. V. Vinogradov. History of Words, 2010

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

See what "BJA" is in other dictionaries:

    See biased with a biased purpose ... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and expressions similar in meaning. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian dictionaries, 1999. biased tendentious, biased, biased, biased; one-sided, prejudiced, ... ... Synonym dictionary

    biased, biased, biased; biased, biased, biased (book). Based on prejudice, in advance, before getting acquainted with the essence of something, accepted, being the fruit of some kind of predisposition. Preconceived thought. Prejudiced… … Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

    BIAS, oh, oh; yat. About thought, judgment: formed in advance and usually based on prejudice. preconceived point of view. Biased (adv.) to treat something n. | noun bias, and, wives. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

    App. Based on prejudice. Explanatory Dictionary of Ephraim. T. F. Efremova. 2000... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language Efremova

    Biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased, biased,… … Word forms

    Objective impartial unbiased… Antonym Dictionary

    preconceived- ▲ negative bias bias. tendentious. partiality. biased. respect of persons. to be partial. personable... Ideographic Dictionary of the Russian Language

    preconceived- biased... Russian spelling dictionary

    preconceived - … Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language

    preconceived- Syn: biased (book), biased (strengthened), biased (rare, book, strengthened), biased (weakened) Ant: unbiased, impartial, impartial, objective ... Thesaurus of Russian business vocabulary

Books

  • Reflections and trees. Dichtung und Wildheit. Commentary on the poems of 1963-1990 (in 2 volumes), Sergei Magid. Sergei Magid in the 1970s and 80s published in samizdat. In 1981-1988. was a member of the Leningrad informal association of poets, prose writers and translators "Club-81". In 1985-1990. accepted...

Bias- lack of impartiality, prejudice, initial inclination to a certain position, experimental readiness for one or another conclusion.
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

Prejudice (prejudiced biased opinion, which is formed in advance) is a way of psychological reaction, which manifests itself in a deliberately negative attitude towards something or someone. This is prejudice and confidence in a negative result or in the negative qualities of a person (group of people), regardless of the circumstances. Such an opinion, as a rule, is formed in advance, based on false principles, attitudes and insufficiently verified information. Prejudice is cold to the arguments of logic and indifferent to the facts. It is generated by stereotypes, and at the origins are the fear of change, laziness and inertia of thinking. She draws strength from pride, self-confidence and her own infallibility.

To overcome bias, it is necessary to learn to think freely, based on concrete facts and logical arguments, and not pre-formed attitudes. It is very important to understand and accept the versatility of the world and to distance ourselves from pride and self-justification.

  • Bias is prejudice and intolerance to facts.
  • Prejudice is the unwillingness to change one's point of view.
  • Prejudice is an infallible belief in one's own rightness.
  • Bias is a pre-formed negative judgment.
  • Bias is the unfair preference for one side over the other.
  • Bias is the tendency to ignore information that does not fit within the given framework.

Disadvantages of Bias

  • Prejudice creates rigid and inflexible thinking.
  • Prejudice makes a person an uninteresting interlocutor.
  • Bias leads to unfair decisions that can cause irreparable harm to other people.
  • Prejudice drives a person into the framework of stereotypes.
  • Bias encourages a reluctance to think and form an independent point of view.
  • Prejudice leaves no chance for those against whom it is directed.

Manifestations of bias in everyday life

  • Judgment bias. Biased refereeing has become a real scourge of modern sports. Biased refereeing kills the fighting spirit in athletes, and in fans - faith in justice.
  • Thanks for the left brain bias. Each of the hemispheres of our brain has its own special functions. The right one is responsible for imagery, freshness of perception, novelty and intuition, while the left one is responsible for logic, clarity and recognition. Biased attitude is the result of either personal negative experience, after which a stable cause-and-effect relationship is formed in the brain, or learned experience or judgments of other people, and the left hemisphere helps us in this. It is necessary to develop "right-brain" perception, when life seems new every time, but at the same time, thinking must be based on the logical support of "left-brain" perception.
  • Prejudice, intolerance, fanaticism. Bias is the first step towards such destructive things as racial or political intolerance, religious bigotry or ethnic genocide. If the consciousness of a person or a group of people is infected with prejudices and prejudices, then it becomes easily controlled, as a result of which such things as terrifying in their large-scale cruelty can arise, such as revolutions, wars, concentration camps or the inquisition.
  • Perceptual bias or a sober view of reality? Our perception of reality is constantly in close dependence on two things: emotions and attitudes. It happens that the same person or the same event is perceived in completely different ways, depending on a pre-formed attitude or opinion of third parties. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly balance between bias and idealization, striving for sober thinking. [Source]

How to overcome bias

  • Learn to think logically. Lively, free logical thinking is the best assistant in the fight against bias. Look for facts and arguments, pick up arguments. Make your own conclusions, strive for independence of opinions, assessments and judgments.
  • Break free from stereotypes. Try to avoid as much as possible phrases and judgments that are built in this way: “all people ...”, “everything always happens ...”, “never here ...”, etc. Life is incredibly diverse, and it is often possible to comprehend this diversity only by bright momentary perception, free from stereotypes and bias.
  • Don't believe everything you hear. Question and logically analyze the information that comes to you, check, think, reason, draw conclusions. Do not unconditionally believe the stories of acquaintances or media statements. Find the strength to fight prejudice and stereotypes.
  • Realize that there are different opinions and points of view. There are many different opinions and points of view in life, and it is not a fact that you have a monopoly on the truth. Learn to listen and hear, seek and find the truth that grows out of facts and requires real evidence.

Golden mean

Bias

Impartiality, objectivity

hyperrationality

Popular expressions about bias

In this sad world, it is easier to split the atom than to overcome prejudice. - Albert Einstein - I think that any use of stereotypes is excessive. - Tommy Lee Jones - Trying to get to the truth means abandoning stereotypes and clichés. - Harold Evans - Prejudices have no rational basis, so they cannot be refuted by reasonable arguments. - Samuel Johnson - Jane Austen / Pride and Prejudice A beautiful and romantic book by the famous British writer Jane Austen tells not only about the complex but happy love story of the main characters, but also about the power to overcome prejudice and prejudice. A person can find spiritual harmony only when he rises above stereotypes and becomes confident in showing his best spiritual qualities. Alexey Ukhtomsky / Selected writings This is an academic reading, but it is Alexei Ukhtomsky's teaching on psychological attitudes and the general theory of dominant that can shed light on many questions and problems of modern life.

Of course, the list is absolutely incomplete, but it gives an idea that the criteria lie in the “like/dislike” plane. It is worth noting that often a biased attitude has a negative connotation, mostly justified. Agree, no one wants to step on the same rake.

In addition to the above, one can also attribute elementary caution, which at any time will not be superfluous, and outright paranoia, which is not such a frequent occurrence, to the causes of prejudice.

The formation of prejudiced attitudes in people is as subjective as the attitude itself. So, someone does not pay attention to appearance, but emphasizes it on the words and expressions used. For some, belonging to a certain social/professional group is decisive.

An important underlying formation of bias are stereotypes. Stereotypes can be laid down from childhood and can be acquired under the influence of external factors, including surrounding people, the media, or formed by an individual empirically on their own.

Is it worth getting rid of? How to deal with this in others?

Do not forget about such an ephemeral concept as "intuition". Intuition can give a signal when outwardly everything is fine or vice versa is absolutely negative. Often, intuition only provides a sense of "wrongness" that is often ignored. But there are people who listen to it and draw conclusions, including and only on its basis. In such cases, the best expression for these feelings would be "I have a bad/good feeling."

The questions are non-trivial. At first glance, prejudice as a self-defense mechanism actually contributes to the avoidance of a number of problems. It is also true that a positive bias helps to recognize the true qualities of the object more quickly. On the other hand, a negative bias does not make it possible to discern positive qualities, a positive one does not make it clear in a timely manner that a dirty trick can be expected from an object.

It is worth projecting your thoughts on this matter to others, as it becomes clear that bias in itself is neither good nor bad. This is an inevitable phenomenon that can be overcome, but not completely eradicated. The main way to overcome your own prejudiced attitude is to realize the presence of this very attitude and how much it interferes with making the right decisions.

Another way is the formation of analytical thinking. That is, to form a holistic perception, it is best to use various sources of information (interview friends, listen to reviews, see sources of information). Luckily, there is no shortage of it these days.

The most important thing in dealing with people is to remember about uniqueness and individuality. Even despite the presence of negative experiences, associations, rejection of appearance or other traits, it is worth learning to see the essence.