Bias-Reducing Activities – Here’s the question again:
Somewhere in this list are the four most important elements that need to exist for bias-reducing contact to be effective. Can you pick them out?
a. An activity that is emotionally intense
b. An activity involving people who possess varied amounts of resources and status
c. An activity involving people of similar resources and status
d. An activity that involves focus on a shared goal
e. An activity that involves physical competition
f. An activity designed to create new friendships
g. An activity that is appropriately intimate
h. An activity that takes place outside the workplace
The Answers: c, d, f, g
Keeping those four principles in mind, it would be great if you could click on the “Contact” button in the upper right hand of this page and send me your examples of specific activities that will create the awareness of Common Ground that will make a real difference in our workplaces. I’d love to share your comments with my contacts.
For additional information on the role of contact and Common Ground in bias reduction, see: “Intergroup Contact: The Past, Present, and the Future,” by John Dovidio, Samuel Gaertner, and Kerry Kawakami (SAGE Publications, 2003. The article can be found by clicking here.
Sondra has a new facilitation topic that will help your group practice bias-reduction skills more effectively. It is called, “Cultivating Common Ground: The Other Side of the Inclusion Topic.” Click here to learn more.