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Communicating Beyond Individual Bias

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Interaction for Practice in Community Nursing

Part of the book series: Community Health Care Series ((CHCS))

Abstract

When we communicate with other people from a standpoint of individual bias, it means that we are failing to recognise the other person as the unique human being he or she is — with all the positive and negative qualities which constitute their own individual personality. Instead, we are viewing them as representative of a broader social category possessed of certain qualities which we dislike, and which we assume are shared by most or all members of that particular social group. In short, we have stereotyped the person concerned (‘he or she must be stupid’) on the basis of the category to which we have assigned them (he or she may be a nurse, but primarily ‘he or she is black’) and on to which we have projected a number of critical assumptions (such as ‘all black people are stupid’).

‘The thing with Aborigines, and this is very well known now in Australia, is that post mortems show they definitely have smaller brains than white people.’

(Author interview with Australian builder, 1997)

‘praise God for AIDS!’ AIDS is wiping out the undesirables … it’s taking out blacks by the thousands; before long it’ll completely depopulate Africa. You know they’re over there, they’re living like savages … the government says they’re equal to the white man. And I don’t believe that, there’s no way that could be possible.’

(Dave Holland, a leader of the Southern White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, cited in Ezekiel, 1995, p. 93)

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Authors
  1. Dennis Tourish
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health Sciences, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland

    Ann Long BSc Psychology, MSc Counselling, Post Graduate Certificate in Research Methods, Certification in Psychodynamic Therapy, RGN, RMN, HV, Dip. Nursing, RNT, RHVT (psychotherapist, writer, Senior Lecturer) (psychotherapist, writer, Senior Lecturer)

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© 1999 Dennis Tourish

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Tourish, D. (1999). Communicating Beyond Individual Bias. In: Long, A. (eds) Interaction for Practice in Community Nursing. Community Health Care Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14757-1_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14757-1_8

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-333-72779-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-14757-1

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