Transcript Some Types of Bias

Some Types of Bias
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUODNQiD170
Propaganda:

Information is carefully selected to create
impressions about the quality of life for citizens. This
kind of biased treatment of information is also
intended to sway decisions by appealing to the
emotions (fears, dreams, etc.) Propaganda often uses
partial truths, exaggeration and related tactics to stir
an audience. The source of propaganda is usually a
political group, the government itself or some
interest group with an ax to grind.
Marketing:

Marketing may use some of the same tactics as
propaganda, but it is motivated usually by market
place interests, trying to sell products and
experiences. Propaganda is more about selling ideas
and action proposals. Marketing shapes information to
satisfy the dreams, wishes and needs of the
consumer. In an effort to win tourist confidence, for
example, a city might play down any recent problems
with street crime.
Class

How we see or report the world may differ according to
our place in that society. A judge or banker might live
high on a hill and see life from up in the clouds while a
street sweeper might have a different perspective,
different air quality and different water quality. If the
reporter is content with life and her/his position within
the society, the resulting stories and information may be
slanted by those attitudes and life experiences.

Insulated from the suffering and difficulties of life at the
bottom of the social pyramid, the reporter may describe
the city through "rose tinted glasses." Conversely,
someone with much life experience at the bottom of the
pyramid may devote all of their attention to the slime,
pollution and social problems that bombard them day
after day. Roses? It may have been a long time since they
have had a chance to smell or see them.
Ethnocentrism:

There is always some danger that we will read or
translate information through the blinders, lenses and
attitudes of our own culture. Our students may be
locked into the values of their own town or group or
nation. They may a bit swift to judge other groups or
cultures from a superior vantage point. They may not
view the new and different culture as a potential source
of inspiration.

Related to this might be the creation of information
about a foreign city or country by our own country
fellows - an Australian view of San Antonio, a Canadian
view of New York, an American view of Hong Kong. The
source may not employ local people to create the
information at all.

Smart chefs allow for fusion. They allow the influence of
other cultures to enrich their own.
Ignorance

Much less intentional than the previous types of bias
would be information flawed by the creator's lack of
background knowledge, training, expertise and
judgment. Some people do not know what they do
not know. They pose as an authority without owning
any of the qualities that should accompany that
status. Anyone can create a Web site and pretend to
know something.
Activity- 20 minutes

In groups of three , create a poster with one of the
types of bias:

Identify/Determine which type of bias you are using

Identify /determine which artistic tools enabled you to
create the bias

Identify for and against which social group your type is
intended for?

What are the probable values/ limitations of your poster
?

Present your poster to the class.