WWU’s Center for Cross-Cultural Research to Host Purdue’s Margo Monteith Oct. 7

Western Washington University’s Center for Cross-Cultural Research will host Purdue University Professor of Psychological Sciences Margo Monteith for “Bias and its Reduction: Creating Awareness and Fostering Positive Change” from 4-5 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7 in Academic West 204 on the WWU campus.

This presentation is free and open to the public.

Contemporary prejudice and stereotyping often take subtle and even largely non-conscious forms that are rooted in societal systems and perpetuate the status quo of inequality. Sometimes people’s experiences provide them with self-insight into their biases, and this can lead to positive changes. Interpersonal confrontation, where people speak out to expose other’s biases, may both raise awareness of bias and establish norms for non-biased responding.

But is confrontation actually effective at encouraging self-regulation and stopping bias in its tracks? Does effectiveness depend on how the confrontation is framed, or the form of bias being confronted? What about the social costs of confronting and the potential damage to one’s reputation?

This talk will explore self-insight and confrontation as strategies for creating awareness of bias and fostering positive change.

For more information, contact Kate McLean, director of Western Washington University’s Center for Cross-Cultural Research at (360) 650-3570 or kate.mclean@wwu.edu.

Western’s Center for Cross-Cultural Research is a collaborative intellectual space that provides opportunities for the professional growth of WWU faculty and students who are culturally oriented, research focused, and psychologically grounded.