Assumptions and Bias - PDF

# Assumptions & Bias Athens State University Library ## Assumptions - Points in an argument taken for granted by a writer that aren't proven with evidence. - We all make assumptions based on our experience, culture, education, and beliefs. These assumptions are present in every piece of writing....

# Assumptions & Bias Athens State University Library ## Assumptions - Points in an argument taken for granted by a writer that aren't proven with evidence. - We all make assumptions based on our experience, culture, education, and beliefs. These assumptions are present in every piece of writing. ## Sources of Assumptions - **Senses** - The impact of the senses is so elemental that we sometimes react to it without realizing we are doing so. - **Experience** - Each of us has a unique set of experiences, and they influence our responses to what we encounter. - **Values** - Values are deeply held beliefs, often learned from families, schools, and peers, about how the world should be. - **Emotion** - Recognizing our emotional reactions is vital to keeping them from influencing our conclusions. - **Self Interest** - Whether we like it or not, each of us injects what is best for ourselves into our decisions. - **Culture** - The culture we grew up in, the culture we've adopted, the predominant culture in the society - all have their effects on us and push us into thinking in particular ways. - **History** - Community history, the history of our organization, and our own history in dealing with particular problems and issues, will all have an impact on the way we think about the current situation. - **Religion** - Our own religious backgrounds - whether we still practice religion or not - may be more powerful than we realize in influencing our thinking. - **Biases** - Very few of us, regardless of what we'd like to believe, are free of racial or ethnic prejudices of some sort, or of political, moral, and other biases that can come into play here. - **Prior Knowledge** - What we know about a problem or issue from personal experience, secondhand accounts, or from theory shapes our responses to it. - **Conventional Wisdom** - All of us have a large store of information "everybody knows" that we apply to new situations and problems. It usually reflects the simplest way of looking at things. ## Recognizing Assumptions - **Identify the writer's claim.** - What is the writer trying to prove? - What does he or she want readers to accept? - **Look at reasons and evidence to support the claim.** - **Reflect on what the writer has left unsaid or taken for granted about his or her argument**. Assumptions are those ideas that hover in the background and must be accepted if the argument is to work. ## Bias - Occurs when a writer displays a partiality for or prejudice against someone, something, or some idea. - Sometimes readily identifiable in direct statements. - Other times a writer's choice of words, selection of facts or examples, or tone of voice. - We all have biases that reflect our opinions and our particular outlooks about life: perfectly normal and simply part of being human. ## Recognizing Bias - Does the writer use overly positive or overly negative language about the subject? - Does the writer use emotionally charged language about the subject? - Does the writer use vague or generalized language about the subject? - Does the writer omit any important facts? - Does the writer add information and evidence that seems unnecessary just to bolster his or her point? - Does the writer fail to properly cite his or her sources? ## Avoiding Bias - **Create a scholarly voice** - Generalization - Objectivity - Evidence - Self-awareness - Sensitivity [Taken from Walden University's Scholarly Voice: Avoiding Bias] - **Generalization** - Avoid stated or implied "all" or "never" assertions. - **Objectivity** - Too sympathetic; overly favorable opinion; provide a more balanced view. - **Evidence** - Support statements with research or answer the question "Says who?" Use specific statistical data to support the idea. ## Self-Awareness - Be aware of your own biases and how these may be expressed in writing. - **This includes:** - Assumptions about professions - use gender-specific pronouns - Beliefs about specific populations - use statistical data to support the idea - Statements based solely on personal experience - use statistical data to support the idea ## Sensitivity - Sensitive language helps you avoid bias. - Be specific rather than descriptive. - Keep wording parallel (male and female). - Be aware of sexual identity terms. - Use parallel racial and ethnic identity terms. - Use "people-first" language when discussing labels (population with label). The image on page 2 is a diagram showing a spectrum of news sources. - At the bottom are the most sensational or clickbait news sources, labeled “Basic AF.” - In the middle is “Great sources of news,” encompassing CNN, AP, and Reuters. - Then comes “Mainstream,” with The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The Guardian, and The New York Times. - The far left and right of the image are labeled “Liberal Utter Garbage/Conspiracy Theories” and “Conservative Ubber Garbagel/Conspiracy Theories,” respectively. The diagram places news sources on a spectrum based on the complex interplay of three factors: - How analytical or basic the coverage is. - How much journalistic quality it meets. - The level of partisan bias.