Heuristics are useful mental shortcuts and rules of thumb that provide a best-guess solution to a problem (Goldstein). They are essential to efficient cognitive function and help us quickly make judgments. Without access to these functions, we would not be able to leave our homes in the morning because we would be forced to conduct a thorough examination of everything around us. However, these processes don’t always lead to accurate assumptions and are often responsible for bad decisions. I have certainly been guilty of making inaccurate assumptions due to relying on faulty heuristics but in the following paragraphs I will delve more deeply into how I have become a victim of people’s faulty assumptions.
I am a follower of Sikhism, a religion erected 500 years ago in Northern India. We don articles of faith that include long uncut hair which is wrapped in a turban. Following the devastating 9/11 tragedy, the only turbaned figures found in American media were those of Islamic extremists. People naturally began attributing the image of bearded, turbaned men with Islam, and others went as far to assume that everyone who dons such an image is a terrorist. In fact, the word “terrorist” in itself became synonymous with this image. I was lucky to live in a relatively liberal and educated area but even then most people believed that I was Muslim or Hindu and a select few would even yell racial slurs at my family and I when we were out in public. The assumptions were based on media reports and the wide spread Islamophobia at the time. However, the fact is that 99 percent of turbaned individuals worldwide are members of the Sikh faith (Jacobsen). The mental shortcuts people applied resulted in inaccurate assumptions and it is important to understand the downfalls of heuristics.
Heuristics are invaluable and a perfect mechanism for many problems but for other situations, they can lead to inaccurate assumptions and individuals should be conscious of this in order to over-ride this automatic process. We are not passive viewers of the world, and heuristics are sometimes susceptible to causing faulty perceptions of reality.
Jacobsen, Knut A., and Kristina Myrvold. “Sikhizing the Sikhs.” Sikhs across Borders: Transnational Practices of European Sikhs. New York: Bloomsbury, 2012. 152-53. Print.
Goldstein, E. Bruce. “Chapter 3: Perception.” Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research, and Everyday Experience. 3rd ed. Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 2008. N. pag. Print.
I can related to faulty heuristics. I not only cover my hair (hijab), I also cover my face (niqab). I do this because I am a Muslim. So at least you can explain to people you are not a Muslim and I can guess (my faulty heuristics maybe:)) that every now and then they give you a sigh of relief, perhaps a look of of “OH, you are not one of them). Of course faulty heuristics is exactly why people associate my every day look with terrorism. For years I have been getting random people shouting the most horrible things to me, chase me in cars, not serve me in stores. All this occurs most often while my children are with me no less. It used to happen infrequently but it’s been an average of once every two weeks for the past two years. I can only imagine that faulty heuristics are the cause since by definition they don’t know me – they can’t even see me! If people took the time to ask, as some people do, they would be surprised that I started wearing the Niqab almost a decade after I came to USA. Furthermore it was against the advice of my mother, family and husband – they all feared for my physical safety. Of course, since I make my own decisions I wore it anyway because I believe its the right thing to do – this the USA and I’m free to make any choice I like. I know why you wear your turban, you think it is correct and you believe it makes you a better person. No different for most of us who make courageous and difficult choices. I have to admit though, that in the midsts of those shouting at me, I think sometimes who is terrorizing whom?
I was saddened to hear about your experience involving 9/11. As a native New Yorker at the time of the attacks I understand the devastation caused by the attack. It was a difficult and confusing time. Unfortunately, the few people that you encountered did become influenced by a faulty human mechanism. However, I do not think it justifies the behavior or actions towards you and your family. All one can do is educated people and offer proper guidance. Thank you for your story.
It is a terrible thing to be stereotyped especially because a faulty heuristics. To feel what we hear is a great injustice. It would be wonderful if we could all think for ourselves but in modern society that is nearly impossible with the influence of the media.
I personally have been stereotyped against due to my Bi-Polar disorder. I think a stronger word than stereotype is stigma. Personally I believe that a stigma is what causes a stereotype and that without stigma there would be much less stereotyping. People hear from the media these stories of “mass murderers” because they were mentally ill and taking medication. In reality, people who are medicated are far less dangerous than those who have anger problems and are not medicated at all. What you never hear about the situation is that the person in question either has stopped taking their medication or refuses to take any. The stigma behind taking medication is greatly influenced by the media and instead of thinking for ourselves we believe what we hear and heuristically come to sudden conclusions.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could use algorithms for everything we do? That would be wonderful but we would spend all day trying to figure out the correct solution, and that is impossible because each persons’ beliefs and morals are different. Until people can learn to think for themselves and not listen to all the propaganda out there we cannot expect much to change. Coming to a quick solution is what we, as people, do best and it many times falsifies what is actually true.
I can only imagine what it feels like to be constantly judged because of the way I look. This is one reason that heuristics can be a bad thing. I work at a large hospital in the Hershey area and many of the doctors there are of different ethnicities, including some men who wear turbans. I am not one to jump to conclusions about people and so I do not look at these doctors as terrorists or anything similar, but distinguished men who worked hard to get to where they are just like every other doctor there. Unfortunately as you have stated though, many people do jump to these conclusions, especially in airports or other highly public places. It’s a shame that something as innate as heuristics can be used against people in such a hurtful way. I have heard people make derogatory comments about some of the doctors of other ethnicities and I find it absolutely horrible. Some people can be so close minded and never give people a chance. I feel this relates at least somewhat to the so-called race wars that happen all around the world. For instance, a few years back when Trayvon Martin was killed, there was a huge uproar of people claiming that it was because of his race. Whether or not this is true, it does go to show that this is something many people are concerned about. George Zimmerman may have seen a young, African American male and his heuristics associated him wrongly with someone dangerous, but that is something no one will know for sure. People live in fear of people who are different than them because they jump to these conclusions from their heuristics.
Do you not love stereotypes? In Social Psychology, the issue you discuss is a common event. We use our schema to address everything we see and do. Unfortunately, if a schema has the wrong information due to FAE (Fundamental attribution error) it can cause anything from bad math to racism and beyond.
Can one/or more person/people fix another person’s incorrect Heuristic or Stereotype? The answer is a no. The person in question has to be willing to accept the new data. You can preach, teach, or beg the person to change, however unless they are willing, they never will. The person will always find their own logic to discredit what you are trying to tell them. If you want to try an experiment, find someone who will only drink Pepsi and try to convince them Coke is better. If they are loyal to Pepsi, they will never accept Coke.
Nevertheless, if a person uses the central or peripheral route to persuasion, you can always supply them with the data in a certain way and have them question it for themselves. On a minor and funny note, most political ads are done via the peripheral route to cause arousal (an emotion) towards the person in the ad. Next time one comes on television – really watch and listen and you will hear and see the key words (emotions) being used.
Thanks for you post, I enjoyed reading it.
D.G.