“I landed in Bangalore last evening and took an Uber to my hotel. It was amazing, you’d think I was in Shanghai or somewhere. The driver worked a day job in IT and said he makes more money driving than in IT. Peak Bangalore! At the hotel, the staff even picked up my luggage without asking, and I didn’t have to tip them. Who says India is backward? Who is this Trevor Noah who keeps complaining? Did you see the pics of Mumbai he’s shared? That’s not the India I have experienced. They’re jealous of us because we’ve left them behind. The West is full of wokies, poverty and drugs; you know how expensive it is to get food delivered home, or to get a ride there? And you have to carry your own luggage. I’m being honest here, I am reporting what I am seeing; if you don’t believe me, you can ask my friends. They’ve been here for longer and are quite objective. But the West is just racist. They don’t like us.”
It’s quite commonplace to hear such commentary on social media. Sample one of them:
https://x.com/amitabhk87/status/1709746905352478960
To be honest, only the narcissistic among us would believe that we are truly objective. While there is no shortage of such people – sample our present political leaders or look at some of the worst dictators in history like Hitler or Stalin – most of us have our share of self-doubt. Yet, we subscribe to such biases and hold some of these beliefs tightly. It isn’t easy to recognize these beliefs; most of us need a devastating event to reassess our thinking about ourselves.
I should know. Like many of us, I thought I was inherently good. Until I looked at the empirical evidence which continues to show otherwise.
A recent paper by the social scientists Aileen Oebers and Roland Imhoff suggests that all known biases can be traced to these six fundamental beliefs.
- My experience is a reasonable reference.
- I make correct assessments of the world.
- I am good.
- My group is a reasonable reference.
- My group (members) is (are) good.
- People’s attributes (not context) shape outcomes.
The pic below is from a table from the study.
Link to the full study here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36930530/
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