Blog #3

For my first bias quiz, I chose to take the gender-career test. My results showed a slight preference toward male-career association and female-family associations versus the other way around. Initially, I thought that my results would be free from any bias because I was raised by working parents and I plan to have a career in the business profession after I graduate.  However, after reflecting on these results, I can see why a slight bias might have been shown.  My dad received his MBA in graduate school and worked in a management position at JPMorgan and my mom is a dental hygienist.  My dad evidently was in school for a longer time to reach this position at the bank and generally worked 5 days a week, 9 hours a day. My mom, on the other hand, worked part time (3-4 days a week) so I generally saw her a bit more often. Because of these reasons, I can see why  may have a slight bias. However, I plan to work in the accounting and/or finance areas of the business world, more like my father, so this may explain why I have a very slight bias rather than a stronger bias.  I wish I didn't have any bias because in the accounting profession, there are many women who are very high up who are as successful as men, and I don't want to downplay their achievements at all. This bias may, in fact, make me more impressed by the females who are higher up because they achieved this while having a family to take care of and somehow balancing the two.

For my second quiz, I chose to take the Age IAT. MY results showed a slight automatic preference to young rather than old. This does not really surprise me because I am around young people much more often than I am around older people. Being a third year at OSU, I have become very used to seeing people around the sane age as me 90% of the time. My closest friends are all within a year of my age and my brother, who I grew up with and just graduated from OSU, is only 2 years older than me.  I may subconsciously feel more comfortable around younger people who are my age because I am used to being around them and have more in common with them. That being said, I do really like old people and think they're super cute!! But I don't necessarily identify with them as much. When working with others, I may find it a bit tougher to identify with the older people in a group (for instance, an auditing team), and I should make it a point to find things in common with them and make sure they don't feel as though I prefer talking to those who are younger. Considering I only have a slight preference, however, I don't think this will affect how I treat those of all ages.

The final quiz i chose to take was the weight IAT. My results showed weak automatic preference for thin people over fat people.  When I think of thin people, I associate this with healthy and physically fit.  Although I don't eat incredibly healthy, I try to stay fit with working out and playing soccer.  I have had a concussion for over a month and haven't had the ability to workout or participate in soccer practices, and it's really taking a toll on me. I don't feel myself when I don't workout often and feel rather unhealthy.  When I think of fatter people, I initially think think they don't take care of themselves as much and may be lazy.  Although this is really not a fair assumption because everyone has their own struggles (and thinner people may not take care of themselves well, either), this is my gut reaction. Most of my friends are most physically fit and I think I simply identify with them more because they enjoy the same things I do such as athletics and running. I wish I didn't have this bias because I am making extreme generalizations about people but I do initially associate thinner people with being healthier.

I really enjoyed taking these quizzes and learned about myself and my subconscious preferences and biases. I will take these into account when I am interacting with others and attempt to put my biases aside when I am meeting others for the first time, because people certainly can surprise you and don't deserve to be judge based on their sex, age, or weight.