On Tue, 29 Jun 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> When I teach both intro and social one of my main goals is to make students
> aware of the cognitive biases that affect the way all of us view the world
> and interpret events, behavior, etc. I usually cite a study by Vallone,
> Ross, & Lepper (1985) showing how perception of bias in network news reports
> on the killings in a Beirut refugee camp were completely reversed for those
> with pro-Arab leanings versus those with pro-Israeli leanings. Each group
> felt the reports were biased: Pro-Arab Ss felt the reports gave an Israeli
> bias; Pro-Israeli Ss felt the same reports were biased in favor of the
> Arabs. I then cite a contemporary example that may have the same dynamic.
> I have used the Rodney King incident, OJ's trial, and more recently the
> Clinton impeachment trial. If no one objects, I am thinkig of gathering
> together some of our recent posts and presenting them to my next class as a
> potential real-life (assuming academia qualifies) example of this same
> phenomenon. I think it would make a real impact on students to see that
> even their psychology professors may occasionally fall prey to the same
> psychological processes that afflict the masses (or at least the majority of
> college sophomores). What do you think? Last semester I used the web site
> that was posting the comments generated by reaction to publication of
> Harris's Nurture Assumption but I think we may have outdone ourselves here.
> Maybe there is even a possibility of an example or two of escalation of
> aggression?
> Do we have an expert on conflict resolution who could turn this into an even
> better learning experience?
>
> Michael Quanty
> Psychology Professor
> CBMTS Project Director
> Thomas Nelson Community College
> P.O. Box 9407
> Hampton, Virginia 23670
> Voice: 757.825.3500
> Fax: 757.825.3807
>
Mike: may I suggest that you bring the appropriate members of the
minority group to the class for discussion.
re my post , I did talk to students from Ethiopia and they
said that HIV was not prominent in that specific region,
but again consider the source?
Michael Sylvester
Daytona Beach,Florida
