PAPERA, KYRE EILEE H.

English 9
Bias and Prejudice: Prejudgement and Preconcieved Notions
In a world of greed, pettiness, rashness, ignorance and judgement, comes a
clash of all to hold a spot on the top of everthing. A clash of bias and prejudice. A
world of different minds and views that will inevitably become the foremost harm to
every human and themselves. Aristotle once said that a man is by nature a social
animal. We humans build our relationships and strengthen our communities by
means of interactions. We interchangeably interact with one another for our own
well-beings and for the development of our communicatory skills. Through these
relevant interactions, we learn and connect our lives to one another to recognize
the importance of our social order. We become known to each and every other
people, we reveal ourselves, and we learn our differences from others. Engaging with
others is vital in forming our attitudes, beliefs, and values. Interacting in society is an
indispensable aspect of human life that significantly impacts our outlook on the world. But still,
every human possess differences and likeness, they tend to compare and contrast
what they know and what they see from what they dislike or oppose, even without
enough comprehension or care of what could be unseen and what could be out of
their knowledge. That is where bias and prejudice may take place. Bias is an
inclination for one person or group, especially a way considered to be unfair.
Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on actual experience or
reason. Bias can often lead us in directions that we don’t expect, that we don’t intend, and that
we might even disagree with if we knew that it was nudging us in a particular way. (Calvin Lai).
Wilkins states that most people are hesitant to see themselves as participating in bias, but that
we need to be aware that we can behave in harmful ways, even if we consciously support
equality. Bias is not based on actual experience or reason. It often happens in social
groups wherein a preference is formed after an appearance of a feeling of
disposition towards an individual or concept that may be compared to another side
that made an opposite impression, in that case earning the favor and being
preferred. It comes in many different forms such as Anchoring bias, Media bias,
Confirmation bias, Conformity bias, and Halo effect. If bias is a judgement for
preference, prejudice, on the other, is a judgement to individuals based on the
groups they confide in simply because of such reasons that they are unacceptable,
humiliating, abnormal, or just different. Prejudices oftentimes happen through
stereotypes that are people’s perceptions of other people or groups that they
consider more than other individuals and groups that exist, thus, meaning that
other individuals that belong in a group not fitting or matching their perception is
considered to be different in a way that they are criticized and discriminated.
Stereotypes are made about individuals based on assumptions about qualities and
characteristics of the group they belong to (The Supreme Court of Canada).
Prejudice also comes with other forms like Racism, Sexism, Classism, Ageism, and
Religion. Bias and prejudice creates a great amount of impact towards people. It
usually occurs when attitudes, beliefs, and the lack of understanding clash. Some
certain attitudes and beliefs can be unconsciously imitated and may lead to
preconceived notions while the lack of understanding may lead to prejudgement.

According to researchers in psychological and brain sciences, however, biases are often
at least partly unconscious. Despite this, they profoundly impact way we interact with the world
and tend to perpetuate much of the inequality that exists in our society. One type of bias is
Anchoring bias where in tend to rely heavily on the first piece of info they receive about the
issue at hand and often sways decisions and occurs regardless of gender and other external
factors. When bias occurs in the media, it is shown in a form of material that is
intended to cause harm or confusion on the image of the material in exchange for a
reward, pay, or favor. Media bias is made intentionally to change the perception of
others or to make them accept, approve, dislike or disapprove an individual or
material. It occurs in medias when news are affected by personal opinions and by
the way it is reported by journalists or news organizations. Confirmation bias shows
bias where in newly found information is most likely to be accepted when it
matches or confirms our current beliefs or certain knowledge we already have, but
when the new information opposes the current belief or knowledge we have, it is
most likely to be disregarded and criticized. Conformity bias happens when
individuals chose to follow and believe others’ beliefs and sometimes copies the
way they behave or they decide to match their preferences and to earn their liking.
It is the tendency to accept information or arguments that align with our beliefs.
Basing your decisions and beliefs on your perception of a person or thing is called
the Halo effect.The Halo effect uses the physical appearance of a person or thing as
a base to determine their inner traits and qualities where their outer appearance is
believed to project their inner traits. Over all bias depicts favorable opinions and
judgement towards one point of view, side, or individual over another. It implements
a process of deciding in between options that can be thought over, favored,
criticized, and discriminated to take a specific side that favors you or a side that
matches your preferences and likes while the other side not taken is ignored,
disregarded or denied. Generally, bias pin points preferences and acts of favoring to
earn a favor or simply just to favor and benefit one side that fit their liking. Bias is
similar to prejudice which also cause as much affects in our lives. Prejudices that
involve negative stereotypes of others, particularly identifiable groups, can
undermine the self-esteem of people in those groups and also deprive them of
opportunities that require positive assessments of their abilities and behaviors. It is
also understood as negative feelings against a person or group that are according
to his or her membership in a group. Prejudice is usually learned from others, such
as parents and peers. Prejudice against race, or so-called Racism, is a judgement
against people of a race. This type is not only a judgement but had also became a
way of deprivation of rights, equality, and freedom of those in the race. Racism
happens when people abuse or humiliate others that take part in a different race
with the use of the power or authority they have. Racism had long been a big issue
in our society and continues to make an impact in our world. Sexism is a topic that
sometimes also becomes paired with Racism. Sexism is a prejudicial judgement
against people who are identified as part of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Those of the
spectrum that identifies themselves with different sexes and gender roles, are
discriminated through sexism in a way that they are neglected, put to shame, and
also deprived of their rights and equality. Classism occurs between individuals of
different social classes. Prejudice against different social classes happen to either
high or low social classes, but it is most likely to happen to people from the lower
classes as they are towered, controlled, and ignored by individuals from the higher
classes. Ageism situates through individuals that criticize people and their abilities
due to their old age, thus neglecting their offer to enter in a field of work. Prejudice
on religions take place through discrimination against people with different religions
and the beliefs they have within their religion. Prejudice, along with bias, has long
been an issue in our society and to make a negative impact on our world. Bias and
prejudice, or simply ignorance, can lead to isolation, vulnerability, disadvantage,
and discrimination at school, at work, in stores and other services, or even where
people live.

The first material provided is an advertisement, aired on September 10,2004,

and was banned due to its immoral attributes. It was the advertisement of a soap
product labeled “BioLink”. In This advertisement, another family was shown. The
scenes took place inside a church wherein a baptism is taking place. The first
moments showed a priest asking the name of the baby which was revealed by the
mother to be “Sofia Bianca”. Thereafter the priest asked the mother to remove the
“belo” on the baby’s head, thus revealing the baby. The commercial showed the
slight shock expression from the priest upon seeing the baby. The priest looks at
both the parents with confusion evident in his face as he sees that both the parents
had fair skin but the baby had dark skin while at the background of the scene were
their individual families gathered. Based on the families of the mother and father, it
was clear that the mother was from a family with naturally dark skin only meaning
that she was using the commercialized soap, yet the baby inherits the natural dark
skin tone from the mother’s genes which caused confusion to the priest. This
advertisement clearly projected prejudice against race which was said to become
the reason for its banning. The advertisement indicated the use of the soap to
whiten dark skin which showed discrimination against dark-skinned. The way it was
commercialized led to misconception amongst the viewers, thus getting it banned.

The second material was the Mcdonald’s advertisement released in March

26, 2010, which was banned due to its projection of bias and prejudice. The
advertisement features a couple and their daughter eating at a McDonald's restaurant. The
father and mother gave questions of preference to their child that clearly indicated
that bias was likely to be shown. Although both of the parents had kept giving their
child questions, the child only answered the same all throughout, saying “dada” and
kept choosing her father. One of the mother's questions was about who the child
got her nose from and the child answered “dada”, the mother had a reply saying
that it was the reason the child was “pango” or pug-nosed which is where prejudice
was shown. At the last seconds of the advertisement, it was revealed that the father
had discreetly kept giving the child pieces of french fries intentionally to make the
child choose him or favor him over the mother on all the questions. The
advertisement had netizens angered with the negative message it gave off to the
viewers and was banned due to the content of dishonesty and bribing that may
influence children if it were to be released. Some were also angered with the
offensive remark for possessing a pug-nose and how it became a discrimination
against people who had the same type of nose.

The third material and last material was a picture of a billboard

advertisement, an advertisement for an anti-obesity pill called “Lesofat”. A figure of
an overweight girl was shown in the billboard advertisement along with a quote
saying “tinatago ang taba? Mag-LESOFAT ORLISTAT” which just indicates that the
pill should be taken to lose fat. The girl carried a bag that she used to cover her
body and an expression of embarrassment was evident on her face. Although this
advertisement was not banned, it still depicts a message of discrimination and
prejudice against obese or overweight people, which is an offense against them. It
expresses a negative message for people and may also cause misconceptions as
well as insecurities. A term for the message it may be showing is “Fat-shaming”.

These materials just prove that bias and prejudice can happen anytime and
anyw to anyone. Biases and Prejudices are attitudes that can damage materials and
sources of information resulting to injustice, discrimination, confusion,
misconceptions, and distrust. The pre-judgements and preconceived information
derived from these informations will cause harmful changes and damages to
people’s confidence, beliefs, attitudes, and way of thinking. To a greater extent,
bias and prejudice are challenging opponents to the balanced coexistence of
humanity. Deriving from traditional attitudes, beliefs, and societal norms, they
perpetuate discrimination and injustice. While tendencies may seem harmless or
unintentional, it shape our viewpoints and interactions with the world around us.
From the subtle influence of confirmation bias to the discrimination of racism and
sexism, the results can be profound, leading to mental, emotional, and even
physical harm. We must identify and face bias and prejudice within society. We can
desire a more inclusive and empathetic world through introspection, education, and
advocacy for empathy and equality. With that, encouraging an environment of
respect and acceptance, we can mitigate the harmful impacts of both aspects,
creating a safer and fairer society for all. Empathy and understanding toward
others’ experiences and perspectives are also essential in dismantling the roots of
bias and prejudice. We can pave toward a more just and inclusive society for future
generations by embracing diversity and actively contesting discriminatory attitudes
and behaviors.

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