Impacts of Beliefs on
Thinking
Why Use It: Understanding
how personal biases and beliefs might influence thinking is a growing essential
for producing better thinking. For many of us, our thinking has become
programmed to a remarkable degree by our life’s experiences. If not understood
clearly, beliefs and biases can unconsciously limit our thought processes.
How to Use It: Use
the following thinklet to assess personal/team thinking beliefs and biases
about a specific situation.
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Step |
Action
Description
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1 |
Write the problem or
situation that you want to identify. Are there any personal or team
biases/beliefs that could negatively impact performance? |
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2 |
List any personal/team
biases about the above problem or situation. Start each one with the either a.“Based
on my experience I/we believe ….” b.“I
was (We were) given to believe …” c.
“I was (We were) required to believe…” |
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3 |
Rate how certain you are
about the belief from 0% to 100%. Note: One way to understand a belief system
is to draw a distinction between ‘knowing’ and ‘believing’ something to be
true. By simply replacing the word ‘believe’ with the word ‘know’
in your statement you can get a sense on how strongly the belief is fixed in your
system. For example; ‘I believe
someday I will die’ vs. ‘I know someday I will die’ or ‘I believe life exists
on other planets’ vs. ‘I know life exists on other planets.’ |
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4 |
Look at each of the
beliefs and list how other people’s beliefs are different from personal or
team beliefs. Note: Use people that
you respect. |
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5 |
Analyze existing
beliefs/biases and determine if there are any adverse influences that impact
thinking on the problem or situation. |
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6 |
Consider what the
problem/situation would look like if biases/beliefs were suspended. |
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Biases
& Beliefs Analysis
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1. Write a statement that
you want to identify any personal or team biases that would negatively impact
thinking about the situation. |
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2. List personal/team
beliefs/biases about the above problem or situation. |
3.
Percent of Certainty |
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Personal
Biases & Beliefs |
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Team
Biases & Beliefs |
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4. How would other
authorities' opinions differ from those above? |
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5. What beliefs or biases
above might adversely influence thinking on this project, problem or
situation? |
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6. If biases/beliefs were
set aside, how might the situation look different? |
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