Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias

by Pragya Agarwal

Overview

Uncovers the science behind our "unintentional" biases using real world stories underpinned by scientific theories and research.

Experiments have shown that our brains categorize people by race in less than one-tenth of a second, about 50 milliseconds before determining sex. This means that we are labeling people by race and associating certain characteristics to them without even hearing them speak or getting to know them. This subtle cognitive process starts in the amygdala, the area of the brain associated with strong emotions.

Does this mean that unconscious biases are hardwired into our brains as an evolutionary response, or do they emerge from assimilating information that we see around us? In Sway, author Pragya Agarwal uncovers the science behind our "unintentional" biases. Using real world stories underpinned by scientific theories and research, this book unravels the way our unconscious biases are affecting the way we communicate, make decisions and perceive the world. A wide range of implicit biases are covered, including left-handedness, age-ism, sexism and aversive racism, and by using research and theories from a wide range of disciplines, including social science, psychology, biology and neuroscience, readers learn how these biases manifest and whether there is anything we can do about them. Beginning with an introduction to what unconscious bias actually is, each chapter answers questions such as:

-Do our roots for prejudice lie in our evolutionary past?
-What happens in our brains when our biases are activated?
-How has bias affected technology?
-Can we ever completely get rid of unconscious bias?

At a time when race politics, the gender pay gap and diversity and inclusivity in the workplace are dominating our conversations, understanding how unconscious bias functions within all of us is more important than ever. The book encourages readers to think, understand and evaluate their own biases in a scientific and non-judgmental way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472971357
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	06/02/2020
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	341,166
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Dr Pragya Agarwal is a behavioral and data scientist. After her PhD from University of Nottingham, she was a senior academic in US and UK Universities for over 12 years and held the prestigious Leverhulme Fellowship. She is also the founder of a research think-tank The 50 Percent Project examining societal inequalities, and a freelance writer for Guardian, Prospect, Forbes, Huffington Post, BBC Science Focus and New Scientist amongst others. She is a two-time TEDx speaker and given keynotes and talks for schools, universities, charities and has worked as a consultant with global corporate, governmental and research organizations. Pragya has appeared on many international podcasts and shows such as NPR, BBC Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4 'The Spark', BBC Asian Network, Cosmic Shambles, Intelligence Squared and the Royal Institution. She has organized a TEDxWoman event, and an online South Asian Literary Festival, and has a podcast called 'Outside the Boxes'. Pragya was named as one of top 100 leading women social entrepreneurs in the UK, and awarded the Diverse Wisdom award by Hay House Publishing.

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Section I Hardwired

Chapter 1 Gut Instinct 27

Chapter 2 The Dawn of Time 43

Chapter 3 All in Your Head 67

Section II Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter 4 Back in Your Box 105

Chapter 5 Bobbsey Twins 152

Chapter 6 Hindsight is 20/20 181

Section III Sex Type-Cast

Chapter 7 Sugar and Spice 205

Chapter 8 It's Not Black and White 252

Chapter 9 Swipe Right for a Match 295

Chapter 10 I Hear You, I Say 329

Section IV Moral Conundrum

Chapter 11 I'd Blush If I Could 363

Chapter 12 Good Intentions 393

Epilogue: De-biasing 101 411

Appendix 415

References 416

Acknowledgements 442

Index 443

Editorial Reviews

03/16/2020

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. Elucidating recent neuroscience developments, she shows unconscious bias isn’t as cognitively hardwired as previously believed, and is shaped throughout a lifetime by society, upbringing, and environment. Having been learned, Agarwal writes, biases can be unlearned. She covers a variety of biases, including those based in gender, race, age, accent, and appearance, drawing on evolutionary theory and neurological and psychological studies to illustrate how these prejudices form and how they can be recognized and addressed. Agarwal highlights how pervasive bias is and how it impacts employment, health care, and interactions with police and the courts. She also examines implicit bias in technology, noting that programmers’ biases are reflected in software, in turn reinforcing bias in the real world. Though the bulk of the work is scientific, Agarwal also delves into relevant personal experiences, such as those of growing up in her native India’s patriarchal society, or of encountering racial stereotyping while working and raising children in England. Despite a generally scholarly tone, 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. (June)

Publishers Weekly

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.

Kirkus Reviews

Agarwal's diagnosis of the political harms of bias is passionate and urgent.” —Guardian, Book of the Week

“Fascinating, sometimes challenging, read, for fans of Caroline Criado Perez's Invisible Women and Angela Saini's Superior.” —BBC Science Focus, Best Science Books of April

“A fascinating and vital read.” —Good Housekeeping

“A well-researched and cogent work. It accessibly reveals the insidious nature of stereotyping and does much to encourage readers to examine - and take responsibility for - their own implicit biases.” —Publishers Weekly

“A serious exploration of the neuroscience and psychology of bias. Solid, definitely-not-dumbed-down popular science.” —Kirkus Reviews

“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

“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

“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

“If like me you thought you were non-racist and non-sexist, this book is for you. You will be amazed at how biased we all are. Very well researched, full of great examples from real life. This book should be taught at school.” —Professor Michael Makris, University of Sheffield

“Scrupulously researched, engagingly written, and searingly relevant.” —Caroline Sanderson, editor at The Bookseller

“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

“If you think you don't need to read this book, you really need to read this book.” —Jane Garvey, presenter, BBC Radio 4

From the Publisher

Read More