The neuroscience of biases

The Daily Drip

Carmen: "Brad, that's not a good idea. There's a conflict of interest there."

Brad: "No there isn't."

Carmen: "Since you have 100% stake in this project, but only 50% stake in the other, you will be biased in prioritizing the success of the first project."

Brad: "No, I won't. I'll treat them both the same."

Carmen: "But you're biased."

Brad: "I'm not biased. I want both projects to succeed equally.

Okay, let's talk about this conversation that I actually had with someone.

Bias is non-conscious. That means you don't know when it's happening.

Don't say "unconscious." That means you're asleep.

Biases are tricky because we believe that we have free will and that we can make logical decisions.

The problem is that logic and reason only occur AFTER you have a feeling about something.

Here's how it works:

New information hits your brain (this could be something you see, smell, or perceive through your other senses).

Your body pipes that information to your brain.

The main input to your brain is at the brain stem. This is where all the boring "plumbing and electrical" stuff is that keeps your body operating.

Then it hits your limbic system. This is where your emotions are generated.

Your first interpretation of this information is a feeling.

If the feeling is strong enough, the information goes a bit further forward to an area called the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC). This is where "attention" happens.

Since the information created a strong emotional reaction, the ACC now forwards it to the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) which is the part of your brain responsible for managing your conscious thinking (that's the thinking you are aware you're thinking about).

The PFC is where you do all your abstract thinking and logical reasoning.

That was a lot. Here's a simpler map:

Stimulus (information) >> Peripheral Nervous System (your senses) >> Central Nervous System (Highway to your brain and also your brain) >> Brain stem (major junction with brain circuitry) >> Limbic system (where you generate feelings) >> Anterior Cingulate Cortex (where information gets attention) >> Prefrontal Cortex (where you consciously have abstract thoughts and process logic).

Chris, this feels like middle school geometry. Who cares?

You should care.

This is how biases are formed.

You have feelings about information before your PFC can process it in conscious thought.

Punchline:

Humans are not always conscious of the feelings they have. These feelings have a direct line to decision-making behavior.

This is the fundamental problem found in all kinds of biases.

Confirmation bias. Certainty bias. Racial bias.

Here is an awesome list of logical fallacies that everyone should know.

So how do we manage these biases?

The first step is telling your conscious brain to be aware of these things.

The second step is knowing your weaknesses and not pretending that they don't exist or that you can just ignore them. Finding workarounds is the best way to start managing these.

The third step is telling people like Brad from the conversation above and lifting them up into awareness to start the cycle again.