Critical Thinking for Homeland Security

Critical Thinking for Homeland Security

Written Assignment Two: Mindsets and Biases

Kimberly Manning

Thomas Edison State College

From the moment we are born we begin to learn about the many things we see that are around us in the world. Many of us have learned and experienced the same things, while others have learned and experienced differently. Each of the experiences we go through, whether we live the experience or hear about one, we develop our own opinions and thoughts accordingly. Depending on our experiences one tends to develop a specific mindset and bias towards people, places, and things.

As we grow from children, we tend to learn from our peers. Depending on the community one lives in and the class of the surrounding community, a person will perceive the world accordingly. For example, a child growing up in Camden lives in a lower class neighborhood where there is a high crime rate. They may be taught not to trust people they meet on the streets solely due to the area in which their living. A child growing up in this setting may grow to have a bias that all areas are like this. No matter where they are to go, people coming from a past similar to this may have a hard time fitting in with society due to the skepticism from their past.

On the flip side to this, there are children who grow up in a more fortunate area who would have a very opposite perception on things due to the community in which they grew up in. People who grow up living a fortunate lifestyle tend to be more successful in life because of the support there are able to receive, unlike someone from a lower class. Unfortunately, the people who grow up and/or live in a more fortunate area have a biased opinion or negative mindset about the people who live in a less fortunate area.

Due to the mass media today we should be able to see everything that is going on in the world around us. Unfortunately, one will find that in watching...