The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias

Chugh defines bounded ethicality as “the psychology of “good-ish” people” (8). Being good-ish means being good sometimes, but not all the time. It helps explain why good people do bad things, like ignoring racial bias.

Colorblindness is a racial ideology defined as the belief that race and ethnicity should not influence how people are treated in society. People who are colorblind claim not to “see” race. Chugh notes that color blindness fails to recognize systems of privilege and disadvantage or tailwinds and headwinds.

Confirmation bias is a person’s natural tendency to find evidence supporting their own worldview. It reinforces unconscious racial biases, privileging rather than challenging them.

The term ethical learning refers to a model of what it means to be a good person. Rather than defining a good person as someone who lives under the illusion that they are always good, Chugh focuses on learning, redefining a good person as someone “who is trying to be better” (8).

The term growth mindset refers to a person’s willingness to learn and improve. By contrast, a fixed mindset refers to people who believe they are “fully formed and destined to stay that way” (24). People with a growth mindset see themselves as works-in-progress, unlike people with a fixed mindset, who leave no room for improvement. Activating a growth mindset, then, is key to combating racial bias.

Chugh defines the hard-knock life effect as “the distinction between group (dis)advantage and personal (dis)advantage” (60). Simply put, individuals can believe that members of their group have advantages, while also believing that they personally have not had it easy. The hard-knock life effect is not unique to white people, but a natural reaction people have when their privilege is pointed out to them.

Chugh uses the metaphor of headwinds and tailwinds to explain privilege. Women and minorities face systemic barriers to advancement (headwinds), while straight white men benefit from tailwinds, invisible advantages that help them advance.

A moral identity is a term used in the field of psychology to refer to whether a person perceives themselves, or is perceived by others, as “good.” Research shows that most people want to feel like they are good. Thus, a moral identity is one that people both claim and want granted to them by others.

Ordinary privilege is a facet of identity that gives everyday advantages to people simply because they exhibit it—for example, white, straight, or male. Chugh urges those who benefit from ordinary privilege to use their advantages to help those facing personal and systemic disadvantage.

Chugh defines otherizing as actions, thoughts or beliefs that make people who are different “less human and less like us than they really are” (147). Those who are otherized become more like objects or categories than people. Thus, otherizing has a dehumanizing effect. Chugh points to four well-meaning modes of behavior that are otherizing: savior, sympathizing, tolerance, and typecasting.