Neuroscience of Decision-Making

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At present, it has become evident that unconscious motifs determine people’s decision-making much larger than the conscious value system. This fact is confirmed not only by recent neuroscience research data. One of the frequently occurring unconscious biases is implicit racial discrimination. In the educational system, like in any other field, it is important to be aware not only of conscious drivers for our decision-making but also of unconscious ones.

The mentioned problem is the subject of the TED talk The Neuroscience of Decision-Making by Kimberly Papillon. She discusses that, despite people’s established values, they may have an approach based on their implicit biases. Neuroscience provides the data that some parts of the brain are responsible for judging others as pleasant, kind, or intelligent. In the case of people with a bias toward racial belonging, these parts are activated in different ways while addressing the representatives of various races, not in favor of the underestimated one. At the same time, people seem to be unbiased consciously, yet they judge and act influenced by bias. For example, I have witnessed the underrating of students of Afro-American origins compared with Caucasian ones, despite the number of mistakes in their works being the same. Simultaneously, the teachers were explicitly expressing the idea of equality.

In my opinion, the discussed situation depicts an obvious problem. In the words of Papillon, “an approach to civil rights work that focuses exclusively on identifying the consciously-biased actors in a government institution or private company will overlook most of the biased decisions that occur in our society on a daily basis” (Papillon, 2019, para. 27). I agree with the point that at present, those who try to discredit prejudice still tend to “overemphasize intentional discrimination and ignore implicit bias” (Holder, 2020, p. 9). However, as Papillon speaks in the TED talk (2019), neuroscience not only points out a problem but also gives a solution. It demonstrates that our minds can be controlled by us, which is physiologically proven.

In summary, I think that solution lies in providing more attention to these unconscious motifs. We can take the help of various psychological tests that would uncover such motifs in our minds, which will help to control the process of decision-making and modify the behavior. The efforts in this direction are important for each of us on the way to justice and humanness in nowaday society.

References

Holder, L. (2020). A paradigm shift in race consciousness drives the growing demand for diversity, equity, and inclusion consultation. California Labor and Employment Law Review, 34(5), 8-12.

Papillon, K. (2020). The hard science of civil rights: How neuroscience changes the conversation. Equal justice society. Web.

Papillon, K. (2019). The neuroscience of decision-making: Are we foul or fair? | Kimberly Papillon | TEDxNashvilleWomenAPA[Video]. YouTube. Web.

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