Malcom Gladwell and IAT Test Response

What stood out to me in the chapter was the true story of Warren Harding and how that story relates to the IAT testing. I find it very interesting how he actually became president although he was not the smartest, or the best leader in the running. A take away message that one can draw from this chapter is that a first impression may not always be the right one. Even though first impressions go a long way, you cannot always trust them and getting to know the person is always a good idea before you judge them.

This chapter should be taken under consideration for our discussion on leadership. It can contribute to the discussion because it is a good example of why people have first impressions and it includes the fact that many people act upon these impressions. Undoing an unconscious bias must be pretty close to impossible because our choices do not effect what our unconscious thinks. Some other leadership qualities other than physical appearance are how a person talks or how smart they are (IQ test scores or GPA in college/high school).

After taking the Asian-American test, the results said that I view European-Americans as more 'American' than Asian-Americans. I was not aware of my unconscious bias, and yes, it did surprise me. Being Asian-American myself, I did not know that this bias would have existed within my mind. I also took the race test between Black people and White people and I was surprised by the results of that test also. I do not prefer one or another, yet for some reason my subconscious prefers White people over Black people according to the results of my testing. I was surprised because I treat all people equally yet my mind has seen and interpreted images in the world that say White people are 'better' or more easily linked to 'good' things rather than Black people.