You know how they say you should trust your gut? Well, you shouldn't always trust your gut.
Researchers in a social study and psychological behavior explain instinct as a "time/stress saver." Our brains make subconscious synapses and conclusion in order to categorize different things quickly, thus giving the brain more time to act upon these quiet judgments. Simply, instinct simplifies. It reduces stress and allows us to forgo cognitive questioning and socio-emotional analysis. This is referred to as stereotypes:
"Stereotyping is defined as an "oversimplified, usually pejorative, attitude people hold toward those outside one's own experience who are different. They are a result of incomplete or distorted information accepted as fact without question."
Sometimes the way you feel, the rightness deep in your belly isn't so right. People use instinct as an excuse and explanation for many things, good, bad, and in the grey.
For example, many of those involved in Klan activities reference their instinct: their seemingly unshakeable biological drive that drives them to hate. Instinct, when valued above rationality can be dangerous.
Perhaps the information your instinct is providing you are only ingredients used to piece together rational ideas and behaviors? The word instinct is usually associated with organic behavior (usually praised for its honesty). What if it's this belief: that your instinct is a compass, which gets us all into trouble?
According to the encyclopedia of Britannica, instinct is described as: " innate behavior...an inborn impulse or motivation to action typically performed in response to specific external stimuli. Today, instinct is generally described as a stereotyped, apparently unlearned, genetically determined behavior pattern."
I'll explore some examples that might make it easier to break down:
The subconscious is like dough. With dough, you can make bread, doughnuts, cake, pizza, pasta, cinnamon rolls, or pita bread — you get the idea. The conscious is the baking process — and it usually involves a choice. whether this choice is informed or not depends on a person's ability to use perspective to discern what is real and what appears to be real. The conscious is like a strainer, blocking pasta/subconscious from spilling out while emptying the pot of dangerous boiling water.
Dangerous boiled water is like bigotry, discrimination, snap-value judgments — it is the information we don't always know we are relying on.
For example, everyone poops.
Excretion is one of the most important qualities of a living creature. However, although it is natural and organic, we no longer throw our buckets of poop on the streets or poop in sinks, or on ourselves. At least, not usually. We have filtered the idea of pooping through the lens of what is healthiest. So, we make a choice to use a toilet instead, successfully quashing our instinct to poop on the floor.
If we activated the refining parts of our brains, we could learn to overcome implicit bias and become more accepting, forgiving, and compassionate.
According to the Guardian and MIT Press journals on cognitive neuroscience: "The human brain is predisposed to learn negative stereotypes, according to research that offers clues as to how prejudice emerges and spreads through society. The study found that the brain responds more strongly to information about groups who are portrayed unfavorably, adding weight to the view that the negative depiction of ethnic or religious minorities in the media can fuel racial bias...
Scientists believe that stereotypes serve a purpose because clustering people into groups with a variety of expected traits helps us navigate the world without being overwhelmed by information. "[Negative information] may have been more important for your own survival in ancient times," said Schiller. "It might be more important to store that in your brain."
In future, scientists predict that it may even be possible to uncover differences in brain structure that explain why some people hold racist or sexist views. "It may just be that certain brains are configured to be more flexible and able to unlearn prejudice and others less so," said Spiers. "That might be driven by the environment, say if someone grows up in a very racist household, the brain might become trained to be less flexible in its thinking."
Stereotyping is a predisposition, then a choice.