An important look at one of the issues facing Western society today. This book exposes the insidiousness of unconscious bias and offers us a way to change the way we think that is practical, useful, readable and essential for the times we are living in. You need to read this book and think about the way you live and how you view others.” —Nikesh Shukla, author and editor of The Good Immigrant, screenwriter and fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
“An exhaustive, brilliantly researched survey of bias and how it seeps so easily into our everyday thoughts and actions, from gender essentialism to casual racism. Calmly and without polemic, Agarwal explains why we all need to work harder to avoid lazy prejudice and simplistic narratives if we are to build a fairer society. An eye-opening book that I hope will be widely read.” —Angela Saini, science journalist and author of Superior and Inferior
“If you think you don't need to read this book, you really need to read this book.” —Jane Garvey, presenter, BBC Radio 4
“This indispensable book takes us into our own minds and helps us understand why we believe what we believe and how we can confront ourselves with not just an understanding of other people, but who we are too. A book that is challenging, fascinating and useful, and if we take notice, a book that could make us better people.” —Robin Ince, comedian, writer and broadcaster
“Approaching the contentious issue of social bias with nuance and a broad range of exhaustive research, behavioural scientist, activist and writer, Agarwal demonstrates how unconscious prejudice is still immensely prevalent in contemporary society. Cogently argued and intensely persuasive, Sway is an enlightening account of how entrenched sets of stereotypes have become. ” —Waterstones
“Scrupulously researched, engagingly written, and searingly relevant.” —Caroline Sanderson, editor at The Bookseller
“This book is totally fascinating and a reminder that we are all complex creatures with multiple layers. This book is vital reading, eye-opening and a helping hand to arm ourselves with the knowledge to be and do better.” —Emma Gannon, writer, podcast host and author of The Multi-Hyphen Method
“In a well-researched and cogent work, behavioral scientist Agarwal reveals the many ways implicit or unconscious bias influences one's decisions, worldview, and interactions with others ... this relevant work accessibly reveals the insidious nature of stereotyping and does much to encourage readers to examine-and take responsibility for-their own implicit biases.” —Publisher's Weekly
“A serious exploration of the neuroscience and psychology of bias … Solid, definitely-not-dumbed-down popular science.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A fascinating and vital read.” —Good Housekeeping
“Fascinating, sometimes challenging, read, for fans of Caroline Criado Perez's Invisible Women and Angela Saini's Superior.” —BBC Science Focus
2020-03-15
A serious exploration of the neuroscience and psychology of bias.
According to Agarwal, bias is simply a neutral term for prejudice, which is usually but not invariably a bad thing. Reaching back into prehistory, she identifies tribalism as a precursor. Early man had no doubt that his tribe was superior to all others, and this had a Darwinian survival value because it was undoubtedly safer to assume a stranger was dangerous than not. The author divides biases into conscious and unconscious but emphasizes the second, which seems innate and is thus often called “instinct.” However, writes Agarwal, “when it comes to making important decisions about people or situations, we cannot always rely on instinct. Darwin defined instinct as independent of experience, but more recent research…has shown that it is continually being honed. It is fluid and malleable.” Indeed, many biases are formed throughout life. By age 6 or 7, humans begin stereotyping according to race and gender. The author turns up a genetic disorder, Williams Syndrome, that produces children who are extremely friendly because they lack a fear of strangers; a study showed that they were also much less biased about racial issues. In the first half of the book, Agarwal reviews studies on bias and the debates over their findings; these sections will be a tough slog for general readers. Matters improve when the author, a British citizen born in India and no stranger to gender and racial bias, describes her own experiences as well as the specific biases of gender, race, beauty and age, and speech, along with many dismal statistics—e.g., 14% of whites have been wrongly accused of shoplifting compared with 38% of ethnic minorities. Although Agarwal has been a TED speaker, her writing lacks a similar charismatic appeal, but 400 pages of academic prose, dense with footnotes, reveal important insights.
Solid, definitely-not-dumbed-down popular science.
