Expert Explains the Power of Implicit Bias [Video] by Dr. Efren O. Perez

I encourage all to listen to Dr. Efren O. Perez' presentation on the topic of implicit bias. His biography is interesting, considering that he is a "Political Psychologist," a pairing of terms in a professional title that I've not come
across myself until now. Currently, Dr. Perez is a Professor of Political Science and Psychology, UCLA, where he also serves Director of the Center for American Politics and Public Policy.

Understanding implicit bias is of obvious importance to an increasingly diverse nation where intergroup relations are oftentimes fraught with emotion and serious consequences. See informative synopsis below.

-Angela Valenzuela

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Biases that people hold below the surface are influencing how they view this electoral season, as well as major political issues before them, such as race relations, gun control and immigration, according to a Vanderbilt University researcher. Vanderbilt professor Efrén O. Pérez, author of Unspoken Politics: Implicit Attitudes and Political Thinking, is available to talk about “implicit bias”. Pérez, associate professor of political science and sociology at Vanderbilt, calls implicit bias “an umbrella term for a variety of attitudes, beliefs and knowledge, and stereotypes that we all carry to some degree. They tend to be automatically triggered, hard to control, and can often influence what we say and do without our awareness.” Pérez says our mind picks up on patterns that we see in society, the media, and other places and forms snap judgements before our mind has time to process all the information in a more deliberative and controlled manner. “One of the best examples in the United States concerns its racial hierarchy: the idea that racial and ethnic groups are arrayed in descending order of social status and dominance, with whites atop and minorities to varying degrees below. Even if someone explicitly disavows this state of affairs,” Pérez explains, “a part of one’s mind recognizes that in the U.S., whites are more socially esteemed than non-whites.” LATINOS AND IMMIGRATION He gives the example of immigration. “I've done work showing that many people in the mass public have an implicit attitude toward Latinos, which tends to be negatively charged—and opposite of what they self-report to pollsters. This implicit attitude emerges, in part, because people’s minds detect patterns in immigration news coverage, where one group is constantly paired with negative information, irrespective of whether the information is valid or not. Part of our mind learns a negative evaluation of this group and stores it memory. So, when the issue of immigration is broached, it draws out this implicit attitude, which colors people's thinking about immigration politics.” POLICE, GUNS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS Pérez says despite all the training police officers receive, when it comes to split decisions, implicit bias often comes into play. And that implicit bias often consists of a mental association between African Americans and weapons that many people—including trained police officers—possess. “Even with all the motivation in the world to make a calm and controlled decision, implicit bias can get the best of people if they don’t have sufficient time and clear enough information to wholly analyze a situation,” said Pérez. POLITICS Pérez says studies show that people in polls who claim to be undecided actually have an implicit preference for a candidate as much as four weeks before an election. That implicit preference ends up predicting who they vote for. And often, instead of spending time getting more information, people try to rationalize their initial thoughts. Pérez says if there is “just something” about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump that a voter doesn’t like, without digging deeper into substantive issues, it’s probably because that person is relying on their implicit attitude toward either candidate. “A lot of what we consider to be deliberation is, at the end of the day, a verbal rationalization of those implicit responses we all have,” said Pérez TESTING IMPLICIT BIAS One way to reliably measure implicit bias is through the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a timed computer-based measure that can detect “blind spots” in one’s thinking. Pérez believes continuing this area of study will help us go beyond the traditional public opinion survey to better understand what voters really think. “In many ways, what we’re learning is that implicit cognition is primary to what we characterize as explicit cognition. So that means that the tip of the iceberg—or what people are willing to talk about in a survey— is often heavily influenced by what is submerged below—things that people either don't want to or can't report,” said Pérez. “Nonetheless, these thoughts still leave an imprint on what individuals ultimately believe.” -VU- Follow Vanderbilt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vanderbiltu, on Instagram: http://instagram.com/vanderbiltu and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vanderbilt. See all Vanderbilt social media at http://social.vanderbilt.edu.

Pilot Ethnic Studies-Teacher Preparation Program at UCLA

Particularly in light of the changing demographics in our schools, all teacher prep should embrace Ethnic Studies.  As you can see from this piece in The Daily Bruin, a pilot program is underway at UCLA.
-Angela

Grad student teaches ethnic studies program in middle school

---

By David Yaghutiel June 11, 2017

Campus, News

Graduate education student Andrew Gutierrez III created and taught an ethnic studies course at the UCLA Mann Community School. (Alyssa Dorn/Daily Bruin staff)

---

Andrew Gutierrez almost did not graduate from high school because a teacher wrongfully told him and other students of color that they did not meet graduation requirements.
Now, he teaches middle school students about racial and ethnic history and empowerment in an ethnic studies program he helped pioneer.
When the Los Angeles Unified School District incorporated ethnic studies into its curriculum in 2014, Andrew ‘Drew’ Gutierrez III, a graduate student in the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, helped establish an ethnic studies pilot program to train education students how to teach the subject. The pilot was part of the nation’s first ethnic studies program within a teacher education program, Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez, who is graduating this month, later taught ethnic studies at a summer program at the UCLA Mann Community School, a middle school where students of color comprise a majority of the student body. He said the summer program was popular with students and teachers, and the school requested Gutierrez return and teach his own ethnic studies course the following school year.
Gutierrez said he faced both racism and homophobia growing up in Stockton, California, as a queer man of Mexican and Filipino descent.
When Gutierrez was a senior in high school, his Advanced Placement English teacher told him he could not graduate because his literacy level was inadequate. He talked to other students the teacher classified as inadequate and they noticed they were all students of color.
They expressed their concerns to the district, which deemed the students ready to graduate and found the teacher was not even qualified to teach her AP course.
Gutierrez said he realized how he could empower other students of color who experienced marginalization by sharing his story.
“These stories became the fuel for me to become an educator (because I realized these things) happen to many other people,” Gutierrez said. “Instead of being ashamed by my story, I became empowered by it.”
His course at Mann focuses on teaching students of color about their history, communities, cultures, languages and lived experiences.
Gutierrez said he tailors his lessons to his students’ backgrounds and veers from focusing on the histories and cultures of Europeans and males.

For example, Gutierrez said he prefers to teach Central American immigration patterns over George Washington, because it relates more to some of his students’ experiences.
Students in Gutierrez’s course also used media such as short films, audio and photography to tell their stories as people of color in South Los Angeles.
Gutierrez added the students analyzed modern media, ranging from President Donald Trump’s speeches to Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the Grammy Awards, and how they portray people of color.
Gutierrez said he has fostered a safe space for students by holding “healing circles” in his classroom, in which the students can freely discuss their identities, goals and challenges.
During a recent healing circle, Gutierrez shared his uncertainties about his plans for post-graduation life. When his students told him how much they appreciate him and how he needs to keep teaching, Gutierrez said he was moved to tears.
“If you’re humanizing yourself, if you’re vulnerable and if you’re open (to people), you’ll receive that back,” Gutierrez said.
Christine Shen, director of the UCLA Community Schools Initiative, said Gutierrez has built strong relationships with the students and teachers at Mann.
She added she thinks the ethnic studies program has empowered the students and changed the way they see themselves in the community.
Emma Hipolito, the chairperson of the ethnic studies committee within the School of Education Ethnic Studies cohort, said Gutierrez was the committee’s first member. Hipolito added she thinks Gutierrez is a crucial part of the ethnic studies program at Mann, and that he is always willing to get involved.
Gutierrez said he is deciding whether to continue to teach ethnic studies in Los Angeles or collaborate with other teachers to spread ethnic studies to other communities.
He said he thinks teaching ethnic studies is particularly significant in the current political climate. He added he felt attacked by President Trump’s policies towards people of color and aims to create narratives that promote positive views of ethnic minority groups as a form of activism.
“In this political environment, I’m always under attack, (and by teaching) I’m disrupting the system.” Gutierrez said. “Teaching this class (helps me heal from) this past trauma … and hope for a positive future.”

Very interesting research by UCLA bioinformatician Steve Horvath.  Thanks to Dr. Rudy Acuña for sharing.

Latinos' measured longevity, he finds, is largely genetic, but also related to levels of educational attainment.  This is what surprised me in this report:

Horvath emphasized that Latinos’ slower aging rate cannot be explained by lifestyle factors such as diet, socioeconomic status, education or obesity, because researchers adjusted for the influence of such factors.

They are of course referring to findings in populations so on an individual level, variation on such things matter.  Moreover, these findings do not at all mean that we shouldn't eat nutritiously, but rather to shed light on what has been termed, the Hispanic paradox,” which according Horvath,

“It suggests that what gives Hispanics their advantage is really their Native American ancestry, because they share ancestry with these indigenous Americans.”

Further worthy of note is the finding of beyond the age of 85 for African Americans, their lifespans tend to be longer than comparable whites.  

Barring the ravaging effects of colonization (for example, read this illuminating piece that advocates for food sovereignty for Native Americans in the U.S.), to this I would add that "sharing ancestry" is a living, breathing thing, too, since Mexican Americans and others that emanate from Central and South America often eat an ancestral diet.

Every time we eat a corn (not flour) taco, that's an indigenous meal.  The whole planet can thusly benefit from this diet and I encourage everyone to read this book titled, Decolonize your Diet by  Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel, and to also check out this website for more resources on how to do this.  

I personally try to consume nopales or nopalitos (cactus) regularly.  I use the small, tender leaves from my cactus in my garden to regularly make jugo verde (green juice) that you can read about here.  One of the ingredients, parsley, is also a natural teeth whitener.  I notice my teeth whiten with regular use.

Hope folks find this helpful.  I'm making me a jugo verde today!

Angela Valenzuela
c/s

Scientists unlock a secret to Latinos' longevity, with hopes of slowing aging for everyone

by Melissa Healy

August 19, 2016

A new way to measure how humans age suggests that Latino Americans withstand life’s wear and tear better than non-Latino whites — and that they may have their Native American ancestors to thank for their longer lives.

The findings offer some insight into a long-standing demographic mystery: Despite having higher rates of inflammation and such chronic diseases as obesity and diabetes, Latinos in the United States have a longer average lifespan than do non-Latino whites.

The research also helps answer questions about why some people die young while others live to old age, and what chronic diseases have to do with aging.

To get a handle on some of these thorny issues, UCLA bioinformatician Steve Horvath and his colleagues have been trying to devise a biological clock that measures age more comprehensively than simply counting up birthdays. Their method reflects the activity level of the epigenome, the set of signals that prompt one’s genes to change their function across a lifespan in response to new demands.

This “epigenetic clock” captures a key feature of aging: that as we grow older, there are complex but predictable changes in the rate at which our genes are switched on and off.

Continue reading here.




#NativeAmericans #FoodSovereignty #LatinoParadox #HispanicParadox #LatinoHealth