Bias

Bias appears to be built into the brain as a function. Meaning that the fastest determination the brain is believed to make when confronted with something new is whether or not the new something is like you or unlike you; something you’ve seen before or never seen before. Brain scans have shown that the amygdalae (two little almond shaped organs, one in each cerebral hemisphere) that registers fear, react when one first observes a person from a different ethnic background. However, there can be a significant variance in the response based on a variety of internal and external influences. The brain’s initial reaction can decrease in less than half a second. When faced with any belief that conflicts with one’s own, it takes additional effort and time to override biologically-based cognitive biases, but by doing research suggests that you can become more open minded.