Bias Awareness in Peer Support

Bias refers to opinions and stereotypes that influence our attitudes and behaviors towards certain groups of people. Bias influences perspectives and decisions based on previous knowledge and experience. Researchers have identified about 150 biases that can be grouped into five main categories:

1. Similarity: We like people who have features or characteristics similar to ours.
   
   
2. Expedience: We make quick decisions to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
   
   
3. Experience: We think we know more than others.
   
   
4. Distance: We value things that are near us more than things that are far away.
   
   
5. Safety: We tend to overestimate negative results than positive ones, to keep us from taking risks.

These biases are often a result of our experiences, education, and exposure to societal messages and can influence our interactions with others in areas we may not even be aware of.

The following video will help with understanding bias in peer support