Forum: Notice our own personal biases before reacting or making judgment
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Recent local discussions – including those sparked by campaigns for inclusivity from sport bodies and diversity movements – highlight how subconscious judgments can influence hiring, promotions and even public trust.
Singapore’s push for diversity and anti-discrimination policies is a step towards addressing these effects, but progress starts with awareness at the individual level.
Having studied psychology, I am reminded how easily perception can override objectivity, often without us realising it. Our minds take shortcuts, weighing a single trait above all else, missing out on the real complexity of people.
Consider how Singaporeans respond to appearances in everyday settings. A person with a certain physique might be praised for confidence when dressed lightly at East Coast Park, while someone of a different build doing the same might attract unwanted attention or even criticism. Our “first impressions” are often shaped not just by actions, but also by underlying attitudes in our society towards gender, body image and even ethnicity.
Psychologists refer to this as the halo effect – a bias where one positive trait, such as attractiveness or athleticism, colours our entire impression of a person, including unrelated qualities like intelligence or capability. On the other hand, the horn effect describes how a single perceived negative trait can unfairly lead to criticism.
These biases are not limited to casual encounters. In workplaces, it is common for degrees from prestigious universities or confident speech to be associated with competence – even before someone’s actual work is seen.
Perhaps before reacting, we should pause and ask ourselves: are we responding to someone’s actions – or to an image shaped by our own expectations and culture?
Noticing these biases is the first step to fairer, kinder interactions in our increasingly diverse society.
Adren Sim
