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Understanding Biases that Can Negatively Impact Farmed Animals and How to Help Folks Overcome Them

From OpenSanctuary.org
March 2023

In this resource, we explore what biases are, where they come from, how they manifest, as well as several tips and tools to help folks who visit sanctuary spaces avoid and overcome the ones that can negatively impact farmed animals..


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Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur / #unboundproject / We Animals Media

Much of human thinking, feeling, and behavior is guided by our biases. For this reason, understanding biases that can negatively impact farmed animals is an important undertaking for animal sanctuaries. As communities that challenge the dominant treatment and sociocultural narrative of farmed animals on a daily basis, sanctuaries can utilize their unique learning space(s) alongside a deeper understanding of bias to help folks (re)imagine more compassionate ways of understanding and being in relationship with farmed animals. In this resource, we explore what biases are, how they develop and manifest, as well as several tips and tools to help folks who visit sanctuary spaces avoid and overcome the ones that can negatively impact farmed animals.

The ABCs of Bias

If we want to help folks overcome biases that can negatively impact farmed animals, it’s important that we understand what biases actually are first. In general, bias can be thought of as a particular tendency, inclination, feeling, or opinion about a person, group, thing, idea, or belief that is not founded by known facts. Although biases can sometimes be neutral or positive, they are predominantly negative and based on stereotypes that often result in discriminatory practices and harmful actions. For this reason, some social psychologists have expanded upon the more commonplace definition of bias to include three components that are referred to as the ABCs of bias.

Some of the topics addressed include:

  • How Biases Develop
  • Conscious vs. Unconscious Bias
  • Speciesism
  • In-Broup Bias
  • Hyperbolic Discounting
  • The Bystander Effect
  • The Sunk-Cost Fallacy
  • Confirmation Bias
  • Attentional Bias
  • Conformity Bias
  • Anchoring Bias
  • Self-Serving Bias
  • Horn Effect
  • Framing Effect
  • The Consequences of Conscious and Unconscious Bias
  • How to Help Folks Avoid and Overcome Biases that Can Negatively Impact Farmed Animals
  • Raise Awareness
  • Exercises
  • Develop a Rationally-Based Understanding of Farmed Animals
  • Recognize Sentience
  • Recognize Agency
  • ... and more!

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Please read the ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE.

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